/r/stormwater

Photograph via snooOG

This is a forum for people working or citizens interested in the field of stormwater, low impact development and green urban infrastructure. Share your new ideas, cool research findings, case studies, or news items for the world to see and discuss! Ask questions for professionals and researchers to answer!


description

This is a forum for people working or citizens interested in the field of stormwater, low impact development and green urban infrastructure. Share your new ideas, cool research findings, case studies, or news items for the world to see and discuss! Ask questions for professionals and researchers to answer!


rules

Please keep discussion:

  • Civil
  • On topic
  • Scientific (i.e. based on repeatable analysis published in a peer reviewed journal)
  • Free of layman speculation

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/r/stormwater

1,618 Subscribers

1

Street Sweeping: Clean Streets or Toxic Dust?

0 Comments
2024/03/26
04:32 UTC

2

Florida Friendly Landscaping

Stormwater runoff

0 Comments
2024/03/22
13:29 UTC

7

HOA- stormwater question

Hi everyone, I just built a home which is part of an informal HOA. There are two shared driveways. (In red on the sitemap.)Attached is a photo of the site plan in case it helps. At a recent HOA meeting, my neighbors (house 3) who developed the lots and sold them to the rest of us- told us that he had recently gotten a bill from the landscaper for 26k to repair the stormwater mgmt system which had failed last year due to all the rain we got… and he said that he would like all of us to split the bill. He said that house 1 neighbors wont have to contribute as the drainage issue doesn’t have much of an impact on them. He said there is some impact to my property, so he is requesting that I pitch in (though a bit less than house 2 and house 3)… but a bit less than 9k is still a lot of money. I had no damage from the drainage issue whatsoever (house 2 and 3 had significant erosion issues.)… My house is at the highest elevation. The shared driveway below us with house 1 and 2 is at the lowest elevation. I don’t want to be a bad neighbor and not pitch in my fair share, but im struggling to understand how any of this drainage stuff impacts me. I have never even had to think about stormwater management. My only thoughts on potential HOA expenses were shared plowing costs in the winter. (We live in MA.) It might not be easy to say without looking at the properties, but if anyone has any thoughts on whether or not this is fair to me, please advise!

11 Comments
2024/03/15
20:18 UTC

8

Stormwater Runoff Floods My Backyard & Erodes The Front- City No Help

I've been dealing with this for many years and I'm finally going to do something about it before the rainy seasons comes- I live in Florida.

One house over from me is a stormwater drain at the corner but *none* of the runoff makes it there, because it all turns into my driveway and then runs into my backyard. During a normal rainstorm, I get 4-6" of standing water...if it's raining good for a couple days, it usually is 6-8" standing- it's like a literal swamp. This means I have zero lawn in the backyard, tons of mosquitoes without proper control, and my front yard erodes away at the driveway with street debris building up. It's almost created a berm at the very back of my yard from all the soil movement, which ultimately means it's created a pond for the water to sit.

I realize my home and property sits somewhat lower than my neighbors, but I can't help that. This problem was exacerbated 3 years ago because they laid new asphalt down and it raised the street up another few inches.

I complained to the city, and they came out and used cold patch to build a hump at my driveway entrance. All it did was make the rainwater enter my yard earlier! They also didn't make the edge line up with the street, so it simply doesn't work.

Tell me if my idea works: I want to scrape out the cold patch and then form up and pour a concrete curb along my entire property against the asphalt. Probably only 4" above the road surface. Ignore the writing on the picture about a channel drain, I can't afford that type of correction right now so I will just make the curb go all the way across my driveway but slope it so I can enter/exit.

I can't afford a new driveway, which would probably help. I am capable and able to do the above myself.

Here you can see the street BEFORE I called the city to add the cold patch along with the other layers of prior street below it that they have built up, causing more issues for me over time.

Current situation.

This is prior to city paving and prior to them adding the cold patch. Ignore idea about channel drain

11 Comments
2024/03/13
18:13 UTC

3

Regular Person wanting to make sure that I'm understanding this correctly- Georgia EPD No Exposure Exclusion for a large facility discharging into an impaired waterway

These are some of the documents I'm looking at, identifying information has been redacted. Previously submitted and approved certification forms for years prior are basically identical save for the dates.

Am I wrong to interpret the selections on page 1 of the No Exposure Exclusion Form (NEE) as contradicting one another? At the top, above "section A" a box is checked next to "Previously Permitted under the 2017 IGP (Industrial Stormwater General Permit) however at the bottom of page 1 under part C. Site Information question 4.a. "was the facility or site previously covered under the 2017 IGP?" the box for "No" is checked and 4.b. "was the facility or site previously exempted from coverage under the 2017 IGP?" and the box for "Yes" is checked.

This is a very large facility that's over 4million sq ft of impervious surface and they've previously had several hazmat situations that required remediation in the past, I included the first page of an especially bad-sounding incident that happened there in 2009. There have been other more recent spills of diesel fuel that have been reported to the EPD however I'm including that one because it's very clear in the notes that it wasn't handled correctly by the facility which leads me to wonder how a facility that size with a history like theirs can be granted a No Exposure Exclusion.

I have also found at least one instance of other EPD complaints being made that refer to the facility by another name which shouldn't be happening- the name is of a company that was bought and absorbed but never actually operated out of that location or did any business at that address yet that name is still found if I do a broad search for that zip code on echo.epa listed as being at the main address for the facility that actually does exist and is in operation and the main facility is also listed however they're using an address that doesn't technically exist that's one digit off from the one being used by the company that they acquired in the early 2000s. Does that seem right to you? Why would they be doing this?

Would really appreciate some input from anyone who knows about this stuff, thank you in advance.

2 Comments
2024/03/05
16:24 UTC

1

Pre to Post Residential Analysis

Hi stormwater friends ☔️ I’m a masters student in Landscape Architecture, and I’m analyzing the storm water runoff pre and post neighborhood construction.

I have the topography pre and post development with surface meshes built in Rhino, but I’m still fresh to the equations needed to exemplify the changes.

Does anyone have any references where this may have been done before?

4 Comments
2024/02/28
14:55 UTC

34

Youths destroying(eating) BMPs

I spotted these kids eating my straw wattle roll today. I’ve seen my BMPs run over, spilled over, rolled up and crushed, but never eaten. 😂 had to tell our install contractor to put those on the opposite side of the fence. Damn kids

3 Comments
2024/02/28
02:14 UTC

1

CPSWQ exam questions

Does anyone have example problems of what will be on Part 2 of the CPSWQ exam? I passed the first section but not the second which was all the math questions. I'm taking the exam again in a couple months and would really like any practice questions to study.

1 Comment
2024/02/22
17:45 UTC

7

What are the mechanisms of treatment in LID?

I understand that a good portion of treatment occurs from sediment just settling in a pond/swale/planter etc. and a lot of pollutants adsorb to sediment in the runoff. But are there any other mechanisms of treatment for chemicals, nutrients, etc.? Do pollutants attach themselves to other components of the treatment system? Are pollutants broken down into different molecules during their time in stormwater facility?

9 Comments
2024/01/27
00:18 UTC

6

Stormwater sewer engineering design

First, I'm not an engineer but a medical entomologist doing research on mosquitoes which like to use storm water catch basins and pipes for larvae and adult habitats.

I'm working on a journal article comparing the design of Madison, WI storm water sewers which have linked catch basins (the catch basins are in the main pipe under the road fed by curb inlets) and Arlington Heights, IL which have curb grates with catch basins which then flow into the separate main sewer pipes.

My questions are:

  1. Do these two types of separate storm water sewers have specific names? If so, what are each system called?
  2. What would be a good source for reading about these different designs.

Thank tyou

Here are some of my poorly done diagrams of the separate sewer systems in Madison and Arlington Heights

https://preview.redd.it/7g89qpf1pndc1.png?width=626&format=png&auto=webp&s=13840eb624de6aae61646fe72327a5b8d0ee2e50

https://preview.redd.it/acjw779bpndc1.png?width=604&format=png&auto=webp&s=c68dc8e3eada2c9793d183988323e5aaff06fb9e

Arlington Heights

https://preview.redd.it/dy83yimhpndc1.png?width=614&format=png&auto=webp&s=e15acbf62f01f1ae2404f61679c0b20d8e96d93d

https://preview.redd.it/10xcrqilpndc1.png?width=617&format=png&auto=webp&s=3487a3a82db302c37fb94c57e1fb639e0e6c4cb4

Thank you,

P

10 Comments
2024/01/19
16:58 UTC

6

Time lapse of regenerative stormwater conveyance project in Kentucky

3 Comments
2023/12/16
01:02 UTC

10

I'm being flooded by municipality stormwater. What can I do???

I live in Oregon, and I'm being flooded by my municipalities stormwater, because my neighbor has diverted it to my property by tapping into the storm drain system, within the the public ROW, with a 12", 900' long, buried drain pipe, running North to South. Where this pipe daylights, he then cut in a 12" culvert, 20' wide, running East to West, running under the private road that separates our properties, which opens up to my property/field. My engineer said he figured 15 acres is being diverted to me. It travels across my field and floods a woman's home. It is against the natural grade, I am not a lower land owner. This goes directly against Oregon Drainage Law. We went to court, during covid, I did not have an attorney, but I had a civil engineer come in and testify on my behalf, along with his stamped engineering report, saying, this is all wrong. I lost, because, I'm not an attorney and was horribly strong armed. My neighbor ended up getting a drainage easement to my property, but without any clear or concise depiction of what areas can be flooded or drained upon. We are in an appeal right now (with attorneys) because what we're dealing with is so egregious. I'm hoping that someone in the appellate court cares about the Oregon Drainage Law that was put in place back in the 40's was it? My neighbor said he's being doing this for over ten years, which is the timeframe for prescriptive easement in Oregon. Google earth photos prove the culvert wasn't there, yet the judge granted him an easement because someone from the county said that they 'thought' some old aerial photo showed water. He was not an engineer, nor a licensed photogrammetrist. My engineer said and wrote, 'This water would never end up in her yard. This material isn't as old as the neighbor is claiming it is, we didn't have this material back then and the rock around this isn't even sun damaged yet.' Etc. etc. He was fabulous. The court didn't even speak to his testimony whatsoever and just completely ignored it. How can courts ignore engineers?????? I've had 4 engineers look at this situation, and all 4 have said, 'What in the ever living hell happened here? This is wrong.' I even had the Oregon Board of Engineers do an investigation, and they said this entire scenario is wrong, but the only engineer within this county, will not respond or come forward!! OH, gosh, but here is the kicker..... this drainpipe and culvert that my neighbor 'cowboyed in' (as OSBEELS stated) is in a FEMA FLOODWAY. Yes, this is all in a FEMA FLOODWAY. And FEMA, doesn't care!! We violate the NFIP all day long. To make the situation worse, it has been pointed out to me that the FIRM maps within our county, are depicted FALSELY. The Army Corps sent in a letter of elevations in 1978 for my section. It never got updated until 2009. HOWEVER, they only updated the elevations in 2009, and never the maps themselves. None of the overbank floodplains are showing correctly, and I think my county knows this. There seems to be a manipulation of maps here. People that are actually within the 100 year flood, are being told and shown, that we are in the 500 year flood. It's been demonstrated to me at length on how their information is wrong. I have a stormwater engineer that is retired, but is looking at all of this about to have a heart attack because he says this is all racketeering and criminal, that the county is intentionally skewing their maps so they can still obtain development revenue. I'd love to hear people's thoughts, but also..... just to humor myself... I am wondering if there is an experienced stormwater engineer in here that would be willing to look at a few documents from my stormwater guy, and see if you back up his findings. I will pay, I'm not asking for free work. But if what he is saying is true, holy cow. I'm coming here to ask, because as I said it's a small town, and local engineers here are afraid to go against our building department because they will make their life a living hell here. So just looking for brutal honesty, outside of Oregon. Or, within Oregon if you have no fear. Any thoughts whatsoever will be appreciated. Suggestions, anything. I've been dealing with this for 5 years now, over $100k into it, trying to save my own property. Did we know about this when we purchased the property? That would a NO. Which, is another fun issue I still need to resolve, but time is running out. Help. Thank you.

28 Comments
2023/12/04
22:02 UTC

2

#Melbourne #CivilEngineer #FloodModelling #WSUD

Hi fellow engineers, I hold a Ph.D. degree in Civil Eng (Water Sensitive Urban Design topics) & a Bachelor' degree in Civil Engineering and seeking a job very soon.

I've been living in Melbourne (Australia) for a few years so it's not really an option to move out of the town for a job.

During my PhD, I gained fundamental knowledge in WSUD (though not too much modeling experience), but I talked to someone in the field who did flood modeling for 5~7 years who recommended that flood modeling might be a better job option than water resource engineer.

Personally, I'm pretty much interested in broader property development topic, so I guess my career can also be easily directed on to a subdivision~ish job. I had no working experience whatsoever in the town, so I'd like to hear from you guys on the career path to take to up-play this PhD degree?

Would appreciate if insights can be given, including how the next 5~10 years would look like in the job & future oppurtunities on the way.

Sincerely, reddit user.

0 Comments
2023/11/12
05:16 UTC

2

Water intrusion into detached concrete garage, how to fix? (Pictures included)

The top of my detached garage is a concrete slab. I have discovered three weep holes drilled onto the top of the garage, and the silly thing is they drain directly into the garage.

So a portion of the walls get wet and I get a lot of water on the concrete garage floor.

I want to close the holes but I worry about water just sitting on the top of garage with nowhere to go. (Located in the PNW, so I get a lot of rain).

The last two pictures below show the 1/2 ledge gap under the wood that water is in through so I guess another option keeping the holes open but adding some type of gutter in the garage and draining the water on the outside of the garage through a downspout.

Any other options/ideas?

PICTURES: https://imgur.com/a/hoAgb85

1 Comment
2023/11/10
19:46 UTC

2

Oregon 1200Z Permit - Stormwater Sampling

Can anyone tell me if a stormwater sample that is clear but slightly yellow-tinged with no obvious suspended solids and no other visual signs of pollutants will trigger a Tier 1 report? Stormwater flows through a bioswale before exiting the site (sample location), and I’m thinking the slight yellow tinge may be due to tannins. We currently only have to monitor for iron and it came back below benchmark. Thanks!

3 Comments
2023/10/23
21:49 UTC

5

Down the street, I saw a storm drain clogged with leaves. I decided to clear the leaves out and I noticed the water draining into it was super warm, like the same temperature as shower water…

I went up the street and saw they were draining the water out of this storm sewer. What’s going on and what did I stick my hand into?

2 Comments
2023/10/21
23:43 UTC

1

Storm drain / retention basin monitoring

Hi all! I've worked with a number of county maintenance departments that are responsible for keeping storm drains, ditches, and retention basins clear. They often struggle to keep up with inspection and maintenance, and rely on residents to report problems - this can lead to flooding. Has anyone ever come across a system or tool that monitors these parts of the stormwater system and can alert the maintenance apartment when they need servicing? Thanks!

7 Comments
2023/10/20
01:10 UTC

3

Is a CPSWQ needed in addition to a CPESC?

Are there any scenarios, jobs, etc where a CPSWQ is needed and a CPESC/QSD wouldn't suffice? I had heard somewhere that certain post construction situations would need someone with a CPSWQ, but have never seen this in the real world. Anybody know any further details on this cert? Where its applied, etc?

4 Comments
2023/09/09
17:33 UTC

4

CPSWQ

Anybody sit the exam? Tips that would help someone out. Seems like a lot of info from the review manual which won't be on the exam.

1 Comment
2023/08/26
18:59 UTC

7

This presentation is about pitfalls and lessons from trying to transition stormwater research into actual in-the-ground, maintained facilities. “ Linking Research to Decision Making” - James Houle 2018

2 Comments
2023/07/05
22:38 UTC

5

Book recommendations

@stormwater professionals:

What are your favorite Stormwater books? Preferably something written/updated within the last 5 years, or so.

I’ve been in Stormwater Management (state & local gov) for 3-4 years and wanting to increase my overall knowledge— especially related to history.

Thanks 😀

9 Comments
2023/06/12
01:55 UTC

2

I just recieved my Stormwater Plan reviwer DEQ exam result and I'm fail. I feel so disappointed Any thoughts?!

5 Comments
2023/06/08
05:12 UTC

2

What's the best conference presentation on SW you have heard?

So I'm wanting to put in an abstract for our national stormwatet conference at some point but want the content to be really engaging and fresh. Alot of people present on projects they have done which are somewhat interesting but don't really putforward any ground breaking ideas. Have you heard any conference presentations on stormwater that you found really stood out? Or are there any new ideas in the industry you think would make a really interesting presentation?

2 Comments
2023/05/19
06:46 UTC

7

MN Plumbing Code will no longer allow surcharge of storm sewers

I've heard from another consultanting firm that the plumbing code in MN will no longer allow surcharge of storm sewers, and further "water needs to flow thru the piping system, however it needs to be able to drain freely until it is empty, otherwise the pipe is being used for storage, rather than conveyance. To prevent surcharge, the storm sewer inverts mut be located at or above the design HWL of the infiltration basin."

Is this as unreasonable and impractical as I think it is?

I feel like this would make a majority of our plans uncompliant, and would make nearly all of our underground basins uncompliant.

There's a reason development is so expensive....

4 Comments
2023/04/12
14:54 UTC

7

I have water running from a construction site bringing sediment into my yard. Is this normal?

In the picture you can see one flow of water from another neighborhood that is a normal clear color and the other stream is full of sediment from a construction site. Is this some kind of violation? It is causing quite the sediment build up. https://imgur.com/a/qpaKcOY

12 Comments
2023/03/17
19:03 UTC

2

Bus Bulb and Storm Water

Are there any real world best practice examples of bus bulbs designed with green infrastructure (i.e. planters and natural ways to filter rain water before it runs off into a storm drain) ?

2 Comments
2023/03/14
07:52 UTC

1

Question about amateur/residential stormwater and erosion control in marshy area

4 Comments
2023/02/17
16:50 UTC

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