Principles for Distributing Infiltration-Based Stormwater Control Measures in Series

Abstract

Infiltration-based stormwater control measures are often implemented in a dispersed manner across catchments, making it difficult to assess their combined effect. This study proposes a set of principles that can guide planners in distributing stormwater control measure volumes within a catchment while maintaining the same performance as that of a single large measure at the catchment outlet. The principles are tested by setting up seven different cases, which respect and violate the principles in different ways, and by simulating their performance using continuous simulations with 41 years of data. The results show that when the principles are followed, the system performance is maintained; on the contrary, when the principles are violated, the system performance deteriorates. The principles can be very useful for green field developers who want to implement distributed stormwater control measures in series and need to document their expected effect at an early screening level. Furthermore, the principles can be used to make better simplifications of stormwater control measures in sewer system models at the catchment level.

Constructing an inventory for fast screening of hydraulic and hydrologic performance of stormwater control measures

“…It would be great if the inventory could be used to predict the performance of SCMs in series, but non-linear performance such as seen in Figure 9 jeopardizes such calculations. Predicting performance of SCMs in series is only possible for certain combinations of SCM trains or for making crude assessments (for a study of the challenges in simulating performance of SCMs in series see Sørup & Lerer (2021)).…”

Facilitating Multifunctional Green Infrastructure Planning in Washington, DC through a Tableau Interface

“…Lovell and Taylor's [4] definition, which we adopt here, recognizes that planned and unplanned green space on public and private land contributes to the social and ecological functioning of urban systems. This definition expands the realm of what is considered to be GI, and (1) recognizes the need for greater engagement of private citizens Sustainability 2021, 13, 8390 2 of 20 in the planning, implementation, and management of such infrastructure, (2) acknowledges the role of privately-owned land-particularly residential land, the major land use in most cities-in providing ecosystem services, and (3) includes the role of private citizens-often homeowners-in managing landscapes for ecosystem services.…”

“…With some forms of UGI, such as wildlife habitats for area-sensitive species, bigger is better, with one large patch being superior to several smaller patches of equivalent aggregate area [12]. With other forms of UGI, such as stormwater retention and infiltration, systems of distributed, smaller-scale UGI may be superior to larger-scale, more centralized facilities [13]. Small patches of habitat also may provide corridors or connectivity for species across the urbanized matrix in the form of stepping stones, depending on the organisms of concern [14].…”