Field Performance of Bioretention: Hydrology Impacts
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 2
Abstract
Flows into and out of two bioretention facilities constructed on the University of Maryland campus were monitored for nearly 2 years, covering 49 runoff events. The two parallel cells capture and treat stormwater runoff from a section of an asphalt surface parking lot. The primary objective of this work was to quantify the reduction of hydrologic volume and flow peaks and delay in peak timing via bioretention. Overall, results indicate that bioretention can be effective for minimizing hydrologic impacts of development on surrounding water resources. Eighteen percent of the monitored events were small enough so that the bioretention media captured the entire inflow volume and no outflow was observed. Underdrain flow continued for many hours at very low flow rates. Mean peak reductions of 49 and 58% were noted for the two cells. Flow peaks were significantly delayed as well, usually by a factor of 2 or more. Using simple parameters to compare volume, peak flow, and peak delay to values expected for undeveloped lands, it was found that probabilities for bioretention Cell A to meet or exceed volume, peak flow, and peak delay hydrologic performance criteria were 55, 30, and 38%, respectively. The probabilities were 62, 42, and 31%, respectively, for Cell B.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Department of Environmental Resources, Prince George’s County (Md.) Government under the guidance of Dr. Mow-Soung Cheng. Appreciation is extended to Rebecca C. Stack for collecting and analyzing samples. Scott Angle and Patrick Kangas were instrumental in gaining support for installation of the bioretention facilities.
References
Angle, J. S., Baker, A. J. M., Whiting, S. N., and Chaney, R. L. (2003). “Soil moisture effects on uptake of metals by Thlaspi, Alyssum, and Berkheya.” Plant Soil, 256(2), 325–332.
Barber, M. E., King, S. G., Yonge, D. R., and Hathhorn, W. E. (2003). “Ecology ditch: A best management practice for storm water runoff mitigation.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 8(3), 111–122.
Brander, K. E., Owen, K. E., and Potter, K. W. (2004). “Modeled impacts of development type on runoff volume and infiltration performance.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 40(4), 961–969.
Cunnane, C. (1978). “Unbiased plotting positions—A review.” J. Hydrol., 37(3/4), 205–222.
Davis, A. P. (2007). “Field performance of bioretention: Water quality.” Environmental Engineering Sci., 24(8), 1048–1063.
Davis, A. P., and McCuen, R. M. (2005). Stormwater management for smart growth, Springer, New York.
Dietz, M. E., and Clausen, J. C. (2005). “A field evaluation of rain garden flow and pollutant treatment.” Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 167(1–4), 123–138.
Harter, H. L. (1984). “Another look at plotting positions.” Commun. Stat: Theory Meth., 13(13), 1613–1633.
Holmann-Dodds, J. K., Bradley, A. A., and Potter, K. W. (2003). “Evaluation of hydrologic benefits of infiltration based urban storm water management.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 39(1), 205–215.
Kim, H., Seagren, E. A., and Davis, A. P. (2003). “Engineered bioretention for removal of nitrate from stormwater runoff.” Water Environ. Res., 75(4), 355–367.
McCuen, R. H. (2003). “Smart growth: Hydrologic perspective.” J. Profl. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 129(3), 151–154.
Prince George’s County (PGCo). (2001). The bioretention manual, Programs & Planning Division, Dept. of Environmental Resources, Prince George’s County, Md.
Sansalone, J., and Teng, Z. (2004). “In situ partial exfiltration of rainfall runoff. I: Quality and quantity attenuation.” J. Environ. Eng., 130(9), 990–1007.
Sansalone, J. J., and Teng, Z. (2005). “Transient rainfall-runoff loadings to a partial exfiltration system: Implications for urban water quantity and quality.” J. Environ. Eng., 131(8), 1155–1167.
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC). (2006). 2005 Data Rep., CICEET, Durham, N.H.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (1996). “Managing urban runoff.” EPA 841-F-96-004G, Washington, D.C.
Van Buren, M. A., Watt, W. E. and Marsalek, J. (1997). “Application of the log-normal and normal distributions to stormwater quality parameters.” Water Res., 31(1), 95–104.
Wang, L., Lyons, J., Kanehl, P., and Bannerman, R. (2001). “Impacts of urbanization on stream habitat and fish across multiple spatial scales.” J. Environ. Plann. Manage., 28(2), 255–266.
Williams, E. S., and Wise, W. R. (2006). “Hydrologic impacts of alternative approaches to storm water management and land development.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 42(2), 433–455.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 18, 2006
Accepted: Feb 5, 2007
Published online: Feb 1, 2008
Published in print: Feb 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.