Sustainable Development and Green Growth: Study of Lafayette Central Park Proposed Master Plan, USA

Lafayette consolidated government purchased “Horse Farm”, therefore plans are undergoing to develop it into a city park. The developments proposed to the city park have implications for the hydrologic and hydraulic conditions of the main channel that runs through the park, Coulee Mine, and its overall watershed. The proposed master plan is suggesting two main changes: (1) Converting the concrete coulee into natural coulee and, (2) Adding natural lakes to the right bank of the coulee. This paper is focusing on investigating the effects of the proposed project on the entire watershed. The investigations are conducted using numerical modelling techniques; namely the HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS models. Finally, the changes in water surface profiles, flow hydrographs across the Coulee Mine channel and storage of the natural lakes added are investigated.