Bioretention Hydrologic Performance in an Urban Stormwater Network
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 3
Abstract
Although many studies have evaluated the hydrologic effects of bioretention at the site-level, few have investigated the role bioretention plays when distributed throughout a watershed. This study aims to assess bioretention’s effects on an urbanized watershed in Blacksburg, Virginia by using two modeled scenarios: one where runoff from many land uses was routed through the practice, and another in which only runoff from large impervious areas was routed. Peak flows, volumes, and lag times from these models were compared to the watershed’s current and predeveloped conditions. Both scenarios provided reductions in peak flows with respect to existing conditions for modeled storm events, sometimes to levels below the predeveloped condition. Neither case was able to reduce volumes to predevelopment levels; the option to treat impervious areas had a negligible effect on runoff volume. Both cases were able to extend lag times from the existing development condition. On the basis of these results, bioretention appears to have the capability to improve watershed hydrologic characteristics. Furthermore, only treating impervious areas could be a viable alternative when funds or space are limiting factors.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Bonnin, G., Todd, D., Lin, B., Parzybok, T., Yekta, M., and Riley, D. (2004). “Precipitation-frequency atlas of the United States.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA) atlas 14, Vol.2, NOAA, Silver Spring, MD.
Chang, C., Lo, S., and Huang, S. (2009). “Optimal strategies for best management practice placement in a synthetic watershed.” Environ. Monit. Assess., 153(1–4), 359–364.
Davis, A. (2008). “Field performance of bioretention: Hydrology impacts.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 13(2), 90–95.
Dietz, M., and Clausen, J. (2008). “Stormwater runoff and export changes with development in a traditional and low impact subdivision.” J. Environ. Manage., 87(4), 560–566.
Elliott, A., Trowsdale, S., and Wadhwa, S. (2009). “Effect of aggregation of on-site stormwater control devices in an urban catchment model.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 14(9), 975–983.
Emerson, C., Welty, C., and Traver, R. (2005). “Watershed-scale evaluation of a system of storm water detention basins.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 10(3), 237–242.
Endreny, T., and Collins, V. (2009). “Implications of bioretention basin spatial arrangements on stormwater recharge and groundwater mounding.” Ecol. Eng., 35(5), 670–677.
Gilroy, K., and McCuen, R. (2009). “Spatio-temporal effects of low impact development practices.” J. Hydrol. (Amsterdam), 367(3–4), 228–236.
Hatt, B., Fletcher, T., and Deletic, A. (2009). “Hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of stormwater biofiltration systems at the field scale.” J. Hydrol. (Amsterdam), 365(3–4), 310–321.
Hawkins, R. H., Ward, T. J., Woodward, D. E., and van Mullem, J. A. (2009). “Curve number hydrology: State of the practice.” Technical report, ASCE/EWRI Curve Number Hydrology Task Committee ASCE, Reston, VA.
Hixon, L. F. (2009). “Making the case for tailored stormwater management.” M.S. thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA.
Holman-Dodds, J., Bradley, A., and Potter, K. (2003). “Evaluation of hydrologic benefits of infiltration based storm water management.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 39(1), 205–215.
Hood, M., Clausen, J., and Warner, G. (2007). “Comparison of stormwater lag times for low impact and traditional residential development.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 43(4), 1036–1046.
Jin, M., Coran, S., and Cook, J. (2002). “New one-dimensional implicit numerical dynamic sewer and storm model.” Proc. 9th Int. Conf. Urban Drainage Global Solutions for Urban Drainage, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Kirpich, Z. (1940). “Time of concentration of small agricultural watersheds.” Civ. Eng., 10(6), 362.
Prince Georges County Program and Planning Division. (2002). Prince George’s County bioretention manual, Upper Marlboro, MD.
Seelye, E. E. (1945). Data book for civil engineers, Vol. 1: Design, Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
SewerGEMS v8i [Computer software]. (2010). Bentley Systems, Inc., Exton, PA.
USDA. (1986). “Urban hydrology for small watersheds, TR-55.” Technical rep. 55, National Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC.
Zhen, J., Shoemaker, L., Riverson, J., Alvi, K., and Cheng, M. (2006). “BMP analysis system for watershed-based stormwater management.” J. Environ. Sci. Health., Part A, 41(7), 1391–1403.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 26, 2010
Accepted: May 26, 2011
Published online: May 28, 2011
Published in print: Mar 1, 2012
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.