Evaluating a Spreadsheet Model to Predict Green Roof Stormwater Management
Publication: Low Impact Development: New and Continuing Applications
Abstract
The departments of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Horticulture at the Pennsylvania State University have combined efforts to quantify the stormwater attenuation capabilities of extensive green-roof systems. This green-roof system consisted of a roof with a conventional flat-roof covering, a 0.5-in thick Enka-drainage layer, 3.5 in of porous medium, and Sedum spurium planted 3.0 in on center. The combined layers of this green roof had a maximum retention of 1.5 in and a saturated hydraulic conductivity of 0.43 in/s. The green roof system was modeled using a checkbook approach with daily rainfall depth as an input and ET and runoff as the outputs. The AGRR model was applied to 28 years (1976–2003) of rainfall data in Raleigh, NC, and showed that 45% of the annual rainfall volume (depth) can be retained on the green roof. Increasing the volume of storage does not improve the roofs ability to retain rain water. Providing only 0.125 in of roof storage will still cause over 30% of the annual rain depth to be retained on the roof.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Low Impact Development: New and Continuing Applications
Pages: 252 - 259
Copyright
© 2009 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Apr 26, 2012
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Agriculture
- Biological processes
- Buildings
- Business management
- Climates
- Computer programming
- Computer software
- Computing in civil engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Green buildings
- Irrigation engineering
- Meteorology
- Practice and Profession
- Precipitation
- Rainfall
- Spreadsheets
- Stormwater management
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Sustainable development
- Waste management
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water storage
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
- Water treatment
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