Dynamic design of green stormwater infrastructure

Abstract

Research shows GSI Practices outperform static volume crediting.

Recommend including exfiltration and evapotranspiration for dynamic design.

Expand design to include climate, insitu soil and vegetation to take advantage of GSI Properties.

This paper compares ongoing research results on hydrologic performance to common design and crediting criteria, and recommends a change in direction from a static to a dynamic perspective to fully credit the performance of green infrastructure. Examples used in this article are primarily stormwater control measures built for research on the campus of Villanova University [1,2]. Evidence is presented demonstrating that the common practice of crediting water volume based on soil and surface storage underestimates the performance potential, and suggests that the profession move to a more dynamic approach that incorporates exfiltration and evapotransporation. The framework for a dynamic approach is discussed, with a view to broaden our design focus by including climate, configuration and the soil surroundings. The substance of this work was presented as a keynote speech at the 2016 international Low Impact Development Conference in Beijing China [3].

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Low Impact Development (LID) / Stormwater control measures / Green infrastructure / Stormwater design

References

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