Abstract
Rain gardens use natural processes, such as infiltration and evapotranspiration, to control runoff from rain events. Although prior research has shown that rain gardens are effective at controlling the volume of runoff and pollutants associated with runoff, the extent of groundwater mounding under rain gardens remains a concern for landowners, practitioners, and regulators. A rain garden on Villanova University’s campus was instrumented with monitoring wells to observe the influence of the rain garden on the water table. This rain garden receives the runoff from approximately 0.52 ha that consists of grassy areas as well as parking lots. This paper investigates vertical and lateral behavior of localized mounding caused by infiltration in a rain garden subsequent to a storm event. The data used for the analysis were selected from 1.5 years of continuous monitoring at the site. A statistical model was developed, describing event-based peak groundwater rise as a function of radial distance from the rain garden’s center and infiltrated water depth. Statistical analysis was performed to demonstrate significance of the model parameters. Analyses of time to peak and time to return to prestorm levels (dissipate) were performed. The system exhibited a very pronounced dissipation behavior in peak rise, normalized to infiltrated depth of water, with an increase in radial distance. Temporal lag in mounding peak and dissipation was investigated with respect to radial distance. In light of the observed behavior, a methodology for estimating site-specific vertical and lateral impacts was proposed. The methodology was applied to the rain garden, and the results reviewed in the context of geospecific design storms. The paper concludes with a discussion on the expected effects of localized mounding from the rain garden on foundations of adjacent buildings.
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 PA DEP Coastal Zone Management Program, the William Penn Foundation, and the partners of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership. The authors are grateful for their support. The authors would also like to thank Kyle Johnson for his help in preparing the drawings of the site.
References
Bannerman, R., and Cosidine, E. (2003). “Rain gardens: A how-to manual for home owners.” PUB-WT-776, Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 〈http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/shorelandzoning/documents/rgmanual.pdf〉 (Feb. 7, 2014).
Emerson, C. H., and Traver, R. G. (2008). “Multiyear and seasonal variation of infiltration from storm-water best management practices.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 598–605.
Gilbert Jenkins, J. K., Wadzuk, B. M., and Welker, A. L. (2010). “Fines accumulation and distribution in a storm-water rain garden nine years post construction.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 862–869.
Golan, S. K., and Okay, J. (2008). “Rain gardens: Technical guide.” VDOF P00127 05/2008, Virginia Dept. of Forestry, 〈http://www.dof.virginia.gov/print/mgt/Rain-Gardens-Tech-Guide.pdf〉 (Nov. 22, 2013).
Heasom, W., Traver, R. G., and Welker, A. (2006). “Hydrologic modeling of a bioinfiltration best management practice using HEC-HMS.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 42(5), 1329–1347.
Lee, R. S., Traver, R. G., and Welker, A. L. (2013). “Continuous modeling of bioinfiltration storm-water control measures using green and Ampt.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 1004–1010.
Machusick, M., Welker, A., and Traver, R. (2011). “Groundwater mounding at a storm-water infiltration BMP.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 154–160.
Nemirovsky, E. M., Welker, A. L., and Fernander, C. (2014). “Influence of a rain garden in pennsylvania on the water table.” Proc., GeoCongress 2014, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (2006). Pennsylvania stormwater best management practices manual, Harrisburg, PA.
Petersen, W. (2009). “Iowa rain garden design and installation manual.” Iowa Stormwater Partnership, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Div. of Soil Conservation, 〈http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/press/pdfs/RainGardenManual.pdf〉 (Feb. 7, 2014).
Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). (2009). “Philadelphia combined sewer overflow long term control plan update, supplemental information, Vol. 5, precipitation analysis.” PWD Office of Watersheds, 〈http://www.phillywatersheds.org/ltcpu/Vol05_Precip.pdf〉 (Jun. 20, 2014).
Precipitation Frequency Data Server. (2006). “NOAA Atlas 14, Vol. 2, Ver. 3.” Villanova, PA, Coordinates: 40.0382, -75.3403, Elevation: 434 ft, 〈http://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/docs/NA14Vol1.pdf〉 (Nov. 22, 2013).
URS/Philadelphia Water Department. (2009). “Conceptual residential rain garden design for row homes.” 〈http://x.montgomeryconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rowhomerg.pdf〉 (Nov. 22, 2013).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 3 • March 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 10, 2014
Accepted: Jul 3, 2014
Published online: Aug 6, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 6, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2015
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Climates
- Data analysis
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Groundwater
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrology
- Infiltration
- Meteorology
- Methodology (by type)
- Precipitation
- Rain water
- Rainfall
- Rainfall-runoff relationships
- Research methods (by type)
- Runoff
- Storms
- Stormwater management
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water table
- Water treatment
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.