Stormwater management by low impact development practices

Author(s):  
Melika Mani ◽  
Sayed Bateni ◽  
Omid Bozorg-Haddad ◽  
Amanda Cording

Abstract Due to the effects of climate change, urban and suburban expansion, and urban pollutants on runoff quality and quantity, applying contemporary stormwater management approaches in urban areas have become more critical. Low impact development (LID) practices are environmentally friendly stormwater management methods, seeking to replicate the natural hydrologic regimes in urban areas. They have become popular methods to reduce/prevent adverse stormwater runoff impacts in urban catchments, mainly by improving on-site infiltration or harvesting and reusing runoff. This study introduces LID practices and the importance of using them. Thereafter, the structure, benefits, and limitations of common LID practices are explained to help water resource engineers and urban planners have a better understanding of these practices, and choose the most suitable LID practice based on the needs of the project and features of the site.

Author(s):  
Yixin Zhang ◽  
Weihan Zhao ◽  
Xue Chen ◽  
Changhyun Jun ◽  
Jianli Hao ◽  
...  

Stormwater management is a key urban issue in the world, in line with the global issues of urban sprawl and climate change. It is urgent to investigate the effectiveness in managing stormwater with different strategies for maintain urban resilience. A method based on a storm water management model (SWMM) was developed for assessing the control of stormwater runoff volume and the percentage removal of suspended solids by implementing a Sponge City strategy. An interdisciplinary approach was adopted incorporating Low Impact Development (LID) with urban Green Infrastructure and Gray Infrastructure paradigms in a typical old residential community in Suzhou, China. Four types of sponge facilities for reducing stormwater runoff were bio-retention cells, permeable pavements, grassed pitches, and stormwater gardens. The simulation results indicate that the stormwater pipe system can meet the management standard for storms with a five-year recurrence interval. The volume capture ratio of annual runoff is 91% and the reduction rate of suspended solids is 56%. This study demonstrates that Sponge City strategy is an effective approach for managing stormwater, particularly in old and densely populated urban areas. Implementing spongy facilities with a LID strategy for stormwater management can significantly enhance urban water resilience and increase ecosystem services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1972
Author(s):  
Jeremy Wright ◽  
Jeremy Lytle ◽  
Devon Santillo ◽  
Luzalen Marcos ◽  
Kristiina Valter Mai

Urban densification and climate change are creating a multitude of issues for cities around the globe. Contributing factors include increased impervious surfaces that result in poor stormwater management, rising urban temperatures, poor air quality, and a lack of available green space. In the context of volatile weather, there are growing concerns regarding the effects of increased intense rainfalls and how they affect highly populated areas. Green roofs are becoming a stormwater management tool, occupying a growing area of urban roof space in many developed cities. In addition to the water-centric approach to the implementation of green roofs, these systems offer a multitude of benefits across the urban water–energy–food nexus. This paper provides insight to green roof systems available that can be utilized as tools to mitigate the effects of climate change in urbanized areas. A new array of green roof testing modules is presented along with research methods employed to address current issues related to food, energy and water performance optimization. Rainwater runoff after three rain events was observed to be reduced commensurate with the presence of a blue roof retention membrane in the testbed, the growing media depth and type, as well as the productive nature of the plants in the testbed. Preliminary observations indicate that more productive green roof systems may have increasingly positive benefits across the water–energy–food nexus in dense urban areas that are vulnerable to climate disruption.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Kändler ◽  
Ivar Annus ◽  
Anatoli Vassiljev ◽  
Raido Puust

Abstract Stormwater runoff from urban catchments is affected by the changing climate and rapid urban development. Intensity of rainstorms is expected to increase in Northern Europe, and sealing off surfaces reduces natural stormwater management. Both trends increase stormwater peak runoff volume that urban stormwater systems (UDS) have to tackle. Pipeline systems have typically limited capacity, therefore measures must be foreseen to reduce runoff from new developed areas to existing UDS in order to avoid surcharge. There are several solutions available to tackle this challenge, e.g. low impact development (LID), best management practices (BMP) or stormwater real time control measures (RTC). In our study, a new concept of a smart in-line storage system is developed and evaluated on the background of traditional in-line and off-line detention solutions. The system is operated by real time controlled actuators with an ability to predict rainfall dynamics. This solution does not need an advanced and expensive centralised control system; it is easy to implement and install. The concept has been successfully tested in a 12.5 ha urban development area in Tallinn, the Estonian capital. Our analysis results show a significant potential and economic feasibility in the reduction of peak flow from dense urban areas with limited free construction space.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bradford ◽  
Chris Denich

Traditional stormwater management approaches that rely on rapid conveyance and end-of-pipe detention have not adequately mitigated the effects of urbanization on water resources and the aquatic and human communities that rely upon them. Low-impact development techniques that can support a shift to management of the post-development hydrologic cycle and runoff volumes offer better opportunities to prevent stream erosion and protect groundwater recharge, characteristics of the flow regime and water quality. The application and design of four techniques—porous pavement, bioretention cells, green roofs and rainwater harvesting— in the management of the post-development water balance are presented.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2961
Author(s):  
Yang Ho Song ◽  
Jung Ho Lee ◽  
Eui Hoon Lee

A defining characteristic of the urbanization is the transformation of existing pervious areas into impervious areas during development. This leads to numerous hydrologic and environmental problems such as an increase in surface runoff due to excess rainfall, flooding, the deterioration of water quality, and an increase in nonpoint source pollution. Several studies propose supplementary measures on environmental change problems in development areas using the low impact development technique. This study investigated the reduction of nonpoint source pollutant loads and flooding in catchments through urban catchment rainfall–runoff management. For the quantitative assessment of flood disasters and water pollution problems, we propose a reliability evaluation technique. This technique refers to a series of analysis methods that determine the disaster prevention performance of the existing systems. As the two factors involve physical quantities of different dimensions, a reliability evaluation technique was developed using the distance measure method. Using the storm water management model, multiple scenarios based on synthetic rainfall in the catchment of the Daerim 2 rainwater pumping station in Seoul, South Korea, were examined. Our results indicate the need for efficient management of natural disaster risks that may occur in urban catchments. Moreover, this study can be used as a primary reference for setting a significant reduction target and facilitating accurate decision making concerning urban drainage system management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5859
Author(s):  
Leticia Karine Sanches Brito ◽  
Maria Elisa Leite Costa ◽  
Sergio Koide

In Brazil, stormwater management systems are usually deficient and very commonly implemented after the urban areas have settled. In Brasilia, the Federal capital of Brazil, this problem is aggravated due to the fact that the rainy and dry seasons are very well defined, thereby increasing the importance of groundwater recharge as an ecosystem service. This research aims to evaluate the impact of urban structure types and topographies in stormwater management and three ecosystem services: groundwater recharge, flooding, and water quality. The urban patterns studied included mixed residential areas with two block positions (orthogonal and parallel to the topography) and a single-family house with low density. The studied landforms include a divergent-convergent surface and a flat hillslope with high slope taxa—strictly convergent and strictly divergent surfaces, respectively. The arrangement of landforms has an impact on runoff generation, with an average of 9% during peak flow, and an infiltration capacity, on average, 3% higher in the divergent-convergent surface. The greatest impact of the topography on stormwater management is considered based on the direct cost of the drainage system, which is 44% higher in the flat hillslope. Low impact development (LIDs) devices helped to improve ecosystem service provisions and even presented efficiency that almost achieved that of the predevelopment conditions in the evaluated scenarios. Seeking the urban patterns that best suit given environmental conditions is one of the approaches studied in this paper.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1747-1753 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. S. Tobio ◽  
M. C. Maniquiz-Redillas ◽  
L. H. Kim

The study presented the application of Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) in determining the optimal physical design properties of an established low impact development (LID) system treating road runoff. The calibration of the model was based on monitored storm events occurring from May 2010 to July 2013. It was found that the total suspended solids was highly correlated with stormwater runoff volume and dominant heavy metal constituents in stormwater runoff, such lead, zinc and copper, with a Pearson correlation coefficient ranging from 0.88 to 0.95 (P < 0.05). Reducing the original ratio of the storage volume to surface area (SV/SA) of the facility and depth by 25% could match the satisfactory performance efficiency achieved in the original design. The smaller SV/SA and depth would mean a less costly system, signifying the importance of optimization in designing LID systems.


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