At the Center for Watershed Protection…

Last week we summarized EPA’s webcast on the proposed national rulemaking on post-construction stormwater management. The agency was clear in their intention to consider volume control and promoting the concept of green infrastructure.  In its Winter 2010 newsletter, the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) recaps reader ramblings on the role of evapotranspiration (ET) in stormwater design, and shares readers comments on tools for stormwater volume reduction.  Read these and other stormwater features at CWP’s Runoff Rundown, Winter Edition.

Upcoming events

2010 International Low Impact Development (LID) Conference, April 11-14, 2010.

Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, San Francisco, CA.

Organized by ASCE and EWRI.

More Information

From the Rooftop to the Bay: Implementing Stormwater Management Strategies in the

Chesapeake Bay Watershed, March 9-11, 2010. (Registration deadline is February 5, 2010)

Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, VA.

Organized by the Center for Watershed Protection.

More Information

Schuylkill Watershed Congress, March 13th, 2010.

Montgomery County Community College, West Campus, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Organized by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

For more information, call 215-369-1188, ext. 109.

admin Stormwater BMPs BMPs, Chesapeake Bay, evapotranspiration, green infrastructure, LID, Schuylkill River, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, volume control, water quality

We’ve hearing from a few of you, as below. Thanks for being in touch!

Hi, I’m a homeowner in Chester County, PA, and in our development (which dates back to the 1950s) we have some stormwater flooding problems. About 3x a year, our property floods during storms because there is only one drain on our street, and it’s right in front of our house. Even though we’re vigilant about keeping it clear of debris, this one inlet can’t keep up in heavy storms. My question is: how would I go about determining whether the stormwater drainage facilities in our development are adequate or not? What are the relevant standards that govern things like number of drains per 1,000 linear feet, or volume of water capacity per minute? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Comment: There could be multiple reasons for this flooding (which sounds like a chronic problem).  Maybe inadequate design from the start?  Maybe creeping imperviousness on the lots that drain to your inlet that has increased runoff?  It’s hard to define simple standards for inlets and other stormwater system elements where a variety of important design factors (such as drainage area, imperviousness, slope, and other factors) vary and aren’t known to us.  If you have a homeowners association, you might request action there - or contact your municipality.

• One type of action (which you imply) would be to increase inlet (i.e., discharge) capacity at the existing inlet (or increase the number of inlets). The problem with this, even if you could make it happen, is that it simply moves the flooding flow further downstream.
• Another approach might be to try to slow/contain/infiltrate/evapotranspirate some portion of this flooding, if that is practical for you. Installing a rain garden to intercept some flow, reduce volumes, and even enhance the landscape (and your own home) might be an option…
• Of course the ideal solution would be to get owners upgradient to reduce/intercept their runoff before it leaves their own yards…

admin From the Editors evapotranspiration, flood control, imperviousness, infiltration, intercept, rain barrels, stormwater runoff