Storm Water Management
Storm water management on developed sites utilize a variety of non-structural (source control methods) stormwater best management practices or simply BMPs all of which can be used to intercept, retain and infiltrate local runoff and storm water that originates on the site. During site design and planning for any development or redevelopment of property it is possible to define where storm water is coming from, how much storm water is expected and how to manage that storm water.
Likewise it is also possible for a community to adopt codes and ordinances that will set policy toward storm water and its management not only citywide, but specifically on each and every development site. The model storm water based landscape code presented here does just that, sets policy for planting and storm water management on each building site exceeding one (1) acre of land.
Through codes and ordinances, it is possible for a community to set standards for on-site storm water management and specifically how water is to be managed, what storm water facilities will be designed to manage the water and where on a development site that storm water will be managed. For instance, public policy may set several fundamental water management policies such as the following.
a. How to define the Total Site Area (TSA) and its various watersheds.
b. Define site areas that can be used as micro storm water management facilities.
c. Determination of the Design Storm for which storm water amounts are to be calculated
d. Determine the minimum amount of a development site must be set aside for on-site storm water management.
e. Determine the size, location and design standards for Street Yard Buffers (SYB), Vehicular Use Areas (VUA), Steam Bank Buffers (SBB), Street Wall Planting Areas (SW) and Side Buffers (SB) where on-site storm water management facilities may be located.
f. Determine a minimum Permeability Ratio (PA) for each development site and or each zoned district.
g. Determine and define the amount of design storm, known as the Capture Rate (CR) that must be disconnected and managed on site.
h. Develop a local Storm Water Design Manual specifications, design requirements, typical details and maintenance procedures for each storm water BMP’s that will be used to manage storm water.
The technical information that follows has been prepared to assist a community in developing an on-site storm water management policy based upon these principles so that it can be codified within a community landscape code. The document will present technical studies of landscape design components and storm water BMPs to allow readers to understand them and calibrate them for local use within their landscape code. Drawings, details, notes and specifications are provided to allow design professional to prepare the calculations that will be necessary to do the landscape design and storm water design that the model landscape code requires.
Click here to discover more about Storm Water BMPs
Click here to discover more about the 5 classes of BMPs
Click here to discover more about methods for Controlling Storm Water Flow
Click here to discover more about Storm Water Performance Standards
Click here to discover more about Storm Water Design Principles
