Can I Live Here? New Approaches to Landscaping and Management of Stormwater Systems

Project landscape architects/ecologists are often asked to design stormwater basin landscapes in a vacuum, with little or no understanding of how the facility is expected to function. And the expectation all around is that the landscape is expected to succeed. The "afterthought' approach, although successful for many components of site landscaping, can be a primary cause of failure in stormwater facilities landscapes. Society has had 50 years of experience with the general inability of turfgrass to stabilize basin slopes yet there is often reluctance on the part of communities, consultants, and developers to change the landscaping approach even though past approaches don't meet today's needs or objectives, including improved water quality. This paper delves into the specifics of ecologically friendly design and management for stormwater basins. It covers the how-to's, benefits, and follow-through needed to incorporate native Midwestern (i.e., prairie) landscapes into stormwater management systems from the perspective of planning, design, and implementation. The critical role of collaboration between architects, landscape architects, engineers, ecologists, and artists, throughout the design process, is discussed with respect to perhaps the most overlooked landscape design component—hydrology. Planning, engineering, and ecological constraints to stormwater basin design and management are addressed, with an emphasis on the relationship between inundation duration and frequency and planting design.