GSI is being used throughout United States to add value to engineering firm’s offering and allowing them to differentiate themselves in the market, save real estate, to increase buildable land and lower developer’s overall costs. Let Convergent help you implement GSI on your next project.
A reduction in detention requirements means more land can be used for revenue-generating development instead of detention. Multifunctional Design can increase the amount of buildable land by upwards of 45%.
Multifunctional Design can be used to eliminate or reduce detention ponds, large pipes, catch basins, and stormwater quality units. Additional real estate is saved using areas already designated for landscaping and parking for conveyance and storage.
Multifunctional Design enhances resiliency to the built environment. Features such as bioswales, rain gardens, underground detention and permeable pavers enhance stormwater management capabilities that reduce vulnerabilities to flooding and increase groundwater recharge.
SUMMARY:
Located outside of the City of Houston in Fort Bend County, the single-family residential project known as Camellia is a great example of how Stormwater Multifunctional Design can benefit the community, future residents, and the developer of the project. An evolution of Low Impact Development (LID) / Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) techniques, the Stormwater Multifunctional Design approach increased lot yield and saved noteworthy development costs.
SITUATION:
The original design intent of the 90-acre community was to use stormwater canals to manage stormwater while offering 100% of the homes to be built on an amenity. The canals would be required to manage the 100-yr 24-Hours Flood Event (approximately 13-inches in 24-hours) with detention canals. The results of this plan were:
Could a Stormwater Multifunctional Design approach do better?
SOLUTION:
The Stormwater Multifunctional Design solution included bioretention basins that use high-performance biofiltration inside the medians of a development’s roadways to slow the flow of water, while also providing detention. The scalable biofiltration system FocalPoint was used, which combines the efficiency of high-flow rate engineered soils with the durability and modularity of a highly pervious expandable underdrain/storage/infiltration system. In addition, when dry, the bioswales would provide immense green space throughout the community with its decorative plantings allowing for 99% of the lots to face an amenity.
RESULTS:
The next generation biofiltration strategies allowed the engineer to use a smaller footprint, reduce contractor error during installation, and keep the long-term maintenance costs low. 99% of lots were amenitized by locations on green spaces, while the solution also reduced Total Suspended Solids by 85%, Total Phosphorus by 52%, and Total Nitrogen by 60%. In addition, the financial impacts of the Stormwater Multifunctional Design approach were:
When Stormwater Multifunctional Design is utilized for stormwater management and flood mitigation, the result can be significant to the developer, making more real estate available, increasing lot yield and lowering overall costs.
If you and your team would like to learn more about smartPOND, Batch Detention, Stormwater Management, or any of the wide variety of products and services we offer, schedule a LUNCH & LEARN today.
Convergent Water Technologies is made up of a collaborative, nation-wide network of stormwater partners who have come together to form a value-added reseller (VAR) network that covers the United States and parts of Canada. Each company operates separately in its own market, but shares distribution rights to exclusive and innovative stormwater products and technologies.