Real-Time Control and Bioretention: Implications for Hydrology
Publication: Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Bioretention practices have been developed to restore natural hydrologic regimes by reducing runoff volume and mitigating the peak flows of urban runoff. This is critical as cities encounter more extreme weather and their aging infrastructure is left ill-equipped to manage new stormwater management challenges. Functional improvements to bioretention through the use of real-time control (RTC) systems may allow more responsive system adjustments to manage incoming runoff volumes; however, minimal research has been performed to understand how various RTC schemes affect hydrologic partitioning and promote runoff volume reductions. A 6-week column study was conducted in which the water balances for static bioretention designs [i.e., free draining (FD) and internal water storage (IWS)] were compared against those of two RTC designs that focused on either regulating soil moisture (SM) or maximizing internal storage volumes (VC). Of the two RTC designs, the SM configuration showed the most storage capability (18%) and the lowest rate of bypass (7%) compared to the VC configuration that showed storage and bypass rates of 11% each. The FD and IWS configurations exhibited storage at 9% and 16% and bypass at 2% and 11%, respectively. This shows the potential for RTC to meet multiple, sometimes conflicting, objectives; in this case, volume reduction and bypass minimization. Correlation analysis revealed strong relationships between storm size and effluent volumes, but no correlation with seepage. Future research into the use of RTC for bioretention should include variable rainfall intensity in lab-scale studies to better understand flow dynamics over time. Studies should also be conducted in field-scale experiments to understand the larger practical implications of their design and implementation.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the University of Tennessee Civil Engineering workshop, Aaron Akin of Seamon Whiteside, and the East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, who were all instrumental in completing this work. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant number 1737432) and the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment at the University of Tennessee.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • February 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 19, 2023
Accepted: Sep 23, 2023
Published online: Oct 12, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 12, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Computer models
- Control systems
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrology
- Infrastructure
- Laboratory tests
- Models (by type)
- Retention basins
- Runoff
- Stilling basins
- Systems engineering
- Systems management
- Tests (by type)
- Urban and regional development
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water storage
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
- Water treatment
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