Runoff Retention Won’t Solve All Your Stormwater Problems

The stormwater industry is looking to Low Impact Development practices to solve the challenge of managing millions of gallons of water runoff in cities. Storage is a step toward meeting a fundamental goal of LID – runoff reduction.

One of the most popular solutions being adopted by environmental planners is storing the first inch of rainwater from developed sites such as parking lots, driveways, roads or other impervious surfaces. Engineers are eyeing potential problems and using creative solutions to make water storage work even better.

Some cities are adding regulations or incentives for LID water storage, but they may lack any requirement for pre-treatment of the water. This means that storage equipment will eventually fill up with dirt, trash and oil. Maintenance is too often ignored, leading to the release of dirty water.

That doesn’t mean stormwater retention is a bad idea. It’s a great solution! It just needs a little extra engineering help along the way. Ensuring that trash, sediment and oil are removed is a great start.

Aqua-Swirls provide pretreatment to StormTank systems

Treating stormwater with an Aqua-Swirl along with storage is even better. That means good clean water is stored and released back into the streams and lakes that need it. When a mere 0.3% of the Earth’s freshwater is found in rivers and lakes, we can’t afford not to provide water quality treatment wherever possible.

Engineers are also pairing storage with surface infiltration such as permeable pavers. 

What else has worked for you? Post your suggestions below.

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