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Karen Tamir
Rio Piedras
Restoration
Project
The restoration plan for the Rio Piedras
in San Juan,Puerto Rico establishes a
fram ework for healthy habitats,an
opportunity to control flooding waters,
and an innovative platform for future
education and research.
Over the past 40 years, the Rio Piedras watershed in San
Juan has been influenced by population growth, develop-
ment, and conversion of farm land into industrial zones.
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T
heRio Piedrasisoneof fiveriversand streamsthat makeup a6,700
hectarewatershed within Puerto Ricosgreater San Juan Bay Estu-
ary, an extraordinaryecosystem of mangroveforests, seagrassbeds,
coral reefs, mudflats, and brackish water marshes. Theriver originatesin
the headwaters of Marcelo mountain in the area of Lorenzo Marcelo,
known today asLago las Curias, and flows 12 kilometers to thenorth
through increasinglydenseurban neighborhoods, beforespillinginto San
Juan BayAreaEstuary and theAtlanticOcean.
Over the past 40 years a combination of accelerated population
growth, development, and conversion of farm land into industrial zones
hasincreased sedimentation, contaminant flow, and both thefrequency
and severity of flooding. The Rio Piedrass average mean water level is
approximately 1.8meters, but in 1996flood waterscrested to 6.7meters,
causingmillionsof dollarsin damageand lossof life.
Aspart of acomprehensiveplan to alleviateflooding, theUnited States
Army Corpsof Engineers(USACE) devised an improvement strategy for
theRio Piedrasand itsupstream tributaries. Theimprovement plan in-
cluded naturalization of afewbanksupstream, but it relied heavilyon wide
concretechannelsto contain themassiveamountsof water.
In 2002Field Operationswashired bytheUniversityof Puerto Rico to
create a framework plan for the University Botanical Garden on a 120
hectaresitein theheart of San Juan. Thesiteisbisected by asix lanethor-
oughfare and is bounded by neighborhoods on one side and the Rio
Piedrason theother. Theportion of theRio Piedrasthat abutsthegarden
is2.2kilometerslong, extendingfrom thesouthwest to thenortheast edge
of the garden. Under the USACE plan this stretch of the river was to
becomea12 x 4 meter concretechannel. Theframework plan proposed
anew approach for theRio Piedrasthat eliminatesfloodingproblemsas
mandated bytheUSACEand turnsthishidden, inaccessiblestream into a
Field Operations suggested widening the river channel. Soft,
stepping terraces will convey and hold water.The illustra-
tions on page 68 showthe organizational diagrams underly-
ing the design framework of the entire Botanical Garden.
BOTANICALGARDENANDRIOPIEDRASRESTORATIONPROJECT,
SANJUAN, PUERTORICO
Client: University of Puerto Rico Botanical Garden
Design team: Field Operations + Toro Ferrer Arquitectos, Applied Ecological
Services, Marcello Garcia PHD, Gabriel Berriz and Associates, Stan Allen
Architect
Area: 120 hectares (Rio Piedras: 37 hectares)
Costs: 115 million USdollars (Rio Piedras: 45 million USdollars)
Completion: design phase on-going; framework plan phase in March 2006
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public and ecological asset. New spaces, structures, and programsenable
public and academic communities to interact with the river. Programs
proposed along therestored stream includeaquatic and agronomic sta-
tions, educational piers, aviarynestingposts, floodplain and wetland plant
exhibits, and recreational upper terraces for picnics, sunbathing, and
playing. Moundsand hollowsriseand fall aboveand below flood levelsto
collect water, and create backflow marsh basins. Intermittent islands
increasebiodiversity and aviary habitat.
Capitalizingon theRio Piedrasslocation and theBotanical Gardens
vast, underutilized land, theriver channel will bewidened and molded in-
to aseriesof soft, steppingterraceswith varyingcapacitiesto convey and
hold water. Thenew terracesareconstructed usingecological restoration
techniquesthat aid flood control and stabilizetheriversoncescoured and
overgrown banks. A 10 x 2 meter low-flow channel will convey theaver-
agedailyflow. Thefirst shelf, which isalso theprimaryfloodway, provides
conveyancefor atypical 2 to 10-year recurrent interval, and asecondary
higher shelf will provideconveyancefor a100-year recurrent interval. The
shelves widths vary depending on available land and specific site con-
straintsin each zone. Further, theshelvesvaryprogrammatically; with the
first shelf used primarilyfor research, experimentation and education, the
secondary shelf isintended for recreation and leisure.
A thorough preliminary analysis of six key watershed dynamics
hydrology, hydraulics, sedimentation and erosion, shear stress, velocity
gradients, and vegetation identified surfacetreatments, bank protection
systems, reinforcement methods, and vegetation regimes that will best
function for each stretch of thestream.
The low flow channel and narrow zones, under bridges and near
existing buildings, require continuous revetment or riprap surface.
Whereas the first floodway shelf is part vegetated and part vegetated
riprap. Thesecondary shelf, reinforced with erosion control textilesand
Terraces serve as recreation trails connecting the larger San
Juan network of paths and trails with the Rio Piedras. Edu-
cational trails highlight submerged native wetland.
Field Operations studied floodway shelves and bank stabi-
lization techniques in terms of their porosity ratio, capacity
to retain soil, and stability.
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vegetation, issubjected to lessfrequent stress. A newly added floodplain
in thenorthern portion of theBotanical Garden isdesigned to slow the
water down and detain someof theoverflow in collection basins, thus
reducingboth erosion and peak flow.
To accommodatethesevariables, Field Operationsdeveloped acon-
creteunit that offersflexibility through porosity; each unit hasan aper-
turebuilt into it that can befilled with different materialssuch asriprap
or plants. Combinations of the unit can make for smooth accessible
ramps, stairs, trails, orderly planting beds, and research plots. Plant
selection for theRio Piedrascorridor wasestablished accordingto each
speciessadaptability to flash-flood-pronesubtropical stream bank envi-
ronments, capacity to maintain channel conveyance, and tolerance to
fluctuatingwater levelsand flow rates. Theplantingalso maintainsstruc-
tural integrity in soils, habitat qualities, and both educational and aes-
thetic traits. A new arboretum isproposed for theupland slopes, which
over timewill becomean integral part of theBotanical Garden treespec-
imen collection.
Owingto itsdistinctivetrajectorythrough theCityof San Juan and the
University of Puerto Rico Botanical Garden, theRio Piedrasisexception-
ally positioned to becomeaone-of-a-kind urban greenway. Spanningthe
distancebetween thehillsto thesouth and theSan Juan BayEstuaryto the
north, theuniquepublicspaceenablesextraordinarilyrich tropical ripar-
ian biodiversityand providesawiderangeof educational and research op-
portunities. TheRio Piedrasisenvisaged asamagnet eco corridor for San
Juan, and Puerto Rico asawhole.
The section shows the recreation loop, the Botanical Garden
arboretumcollection, upland meadow, trails and the obser-
vation deck in the northern parcel.The historical aqueduct
and educational shed with restored water tanks is located
on the southern reaches of the river.
Various planting regimes were employed for the river banks
and terraces based on each speciess traits.