Comparison between literature guidelines and developed projects regarding the land use criteria for the selection of the best management practices for stormwater

Abstract

Major conventional and traditional public sanitation networks are out of date and have proven their limits to sustainably manage stormwater. Decentralized approach to stormwater management, whereby best management practices (BMP) are dispersed throughout the site project, has gained popularity in recent years. Stormwater BMPs provide an actual, alternative and more sustainable approach than the conventional practice of routing runoff through pipe systems. The selection of the appropriate stormwater BMP to a site project requires experiences and a fine appreciation of many selection criteria. BMPs may be selected according to a wide range of criteria regarding the land use characteristics, the site characteristics, the catchment characteristics, the quantity and quality performance requirements and the amenity, environmental, community and participation requirements. This paper gives a BMP selection aid tool based on a literature review of many public space projects designed with stormwater BMPs. BMPs are classified according to the land use and their position in the stormwater management train. The classification of BMPs proposed in the tool, and based on actually built project, is then compared to the BMPs selection guidelines found in the literature. It appears that, related to land use criteria for the selection of the appropriate BMP, the implementation of BMPs in developed projects is poorly correlated to the guidelines of the literature.

A Methodology for Assessing the Implementation Potential for Retrofitted and Multifunctional Urban Green Infrastructure in Public Areas

“…The implementation of different UGIs along the whole management train (source-control, conveyance, and retention or end-control), as recommended in several manuals and studies [18,[39][40][41], was defined as a principle strategy to achieve an improvement in the criteria "runoff control" of the hydrological dimension of multi-functionality. Such a management or treatment train with a number of small, but interconnected elements can counteract the risk of over -dimensioning individual GI elements in contrast to stand-alone UGI [41] and is the only means of meeting multiple design criteria [35].…”