Identifying Key Factors for Implementation and Maintenance of Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Abstract

Construction and maintenance can have huge implications on the long-term functioning of GSI facilities. GSI facilities investigated were bioretention, permeable pavement, sand filters, infiltration trenches, and vegetated swales. This study first highlights the most important construction and maintenance items based on relevant studies and state stormwater manuals. Fairfax County, VA was used as a case study to evaluate the County's current stormwater program and illuminate common maintenance issues found for each GSI type. Data analysis of 3141 inspection records illustrated particular deficiencies for each GSI type and that there are differences between public and private facilities, most likely depending on site conditions and frequency of routine maintenance. Sediment accumulation was found to be the most common maintenance issue (27.8% of inspections), supporting the importance of adequate pretreatment and good housekeeping when implementing GSI. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) performed a study surveying 63 public bioretention facilities in which they measured ponding depth, filter media depth, ponding area, and infiltration rates. The NVSWCD concluded that deficiencies found in facilities could mostly be attributed to inadequacies during construction. By comparing current post-construction inspections performed by the County to the NVSWCD data, it was found that these County inspections are failing to detect these inadequacies in bioretention facilities from improper construction. It is recommended that MS4s thoroughly record and track construction and post-construction inspection items to improve the longevity of its facilities and better inform future decision making regarding GSI.

Green infrastructure: The future of urban flood risk management?

“…The use of GI can be a sustainable and cost‐effective solution for urban flood management, with Duffy et al (2008) emphasizing that the annual maintenance costs of SuDS systems are 17%–20% cheaper than gray infrastructure. However, maintenance within GI schemes can be more complex and more difficult to remediate (DelGrosso et al, 2019; see Section 4.2).…”

Call for a Dynamic Approach to GSI Maintenance

“…Communities around the world are moving to green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) approaches to restore the urban landscape and meet regulatory requirements. In all cases, it is essential that GSI systems are maintained to enable long-term functionality (Field et al 2005;NRC 2009;Roy-Poirier et al 2010;Houle et al 2013;Blecken et al 2017;DelGrosso et al 2019) and meet regulatory requirements to ensure their intended design and permitted capabilities. Maintenance was recognized early on as an obstacle in using GSI (USEPA 2000), and it remains a key concern (DelGrosso et al 2019).…”

“…In all cases, it is essential that GSI systems are maintained to enable long-term functionality (Field et al 2005;NRC 2009;Roy-Poirier et al 2010;Houle et al 2013;Blecken et al 2017;DelGrosso et al 2019) and meet regulatory requirements to ensure their intended design and permitted capabilities. Maintenance was recognized early on as an obstacle in using GSI (USEPA 2000), and it remains a key concern (DelGrosso et al 2019). As an example, the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) hosted the first Operation and Maintenance of Stormwater Control Measures Conferences in 2017.…”

Pruning stormwater biofilter vegetation influences water quality improvement differently in Carex appressa and Ficinia nodosa

“…Biofiltration systems are being increasingly used to combat water contamination in urban areas, but their maintenance requirements, and how to ensure systems are most effective, requires further investigation (Erickson et al, 2018, Delgrosso et al, 2019, de Macedo et al, 2017. Considered designs are also essential to reduce pollutant loading, with not all media-and plant-types being equal.…”