Hydraulic Performance of a Residential Stormwater Infiltration Gallery
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 3
Abstract
An increasing number of municipalities are encouraging homeowners to implement on-site residential stormwater management. In some communities, this encouragement takes the form of a stormwater utility fee or rain tax that may be reduced if homeowners take measures to reduce runoff. The most commonly cited techniques for reducing runoff are disconnecting downspouts or installing rain barrels, rain gardens, or permeable pavements. The analysis presented here examines the hydraulic performance of the less commonly recommended residential stormwater infiltration gallery designed to reduce off-site runoff from roof gutters. Case study simulation results based on a 10-year precipitation record for Cleveland, Ohio, indicate that a 30-m (100-ft) infiltration gallery sitting atop soil with a modest infiltration rate of () could attain a single downspout roof service-area runoff reduction of 90%, and a 61-m (200-ft) gallery could attain a whole roof runoff reduction of more than 85%. This performance is superior to that expected from rain barrels or modest-size rain gardens, and the operation-free and low-maintenance gallery would address many of the concerns often expressed by homeowners about other stormwater-management options.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Michael Burger, James Hale, Alexandra Litofsky, Ata Adel, Alex Hopkins, and Steven Wellstead, all of whom have contributed to the ongoing evaluation of residential stormwater-management systems.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 3 • March 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 11, 2015
Accepted: Sep 30, 2015
Published online: Dec 1, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 1, 2016
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