Three Components of Infiltration System DesignCommon infiltration practices include drywells, bioretention, permeable pavement, infiltration trenches, infiltration basins, and subsurface infiltration galleries. Regardless of their form, all infiltration systems have three primary components: storage, treatment, and infiltration.1. StorageRetention

The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation received the Outstanding Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation Award for its Garvanza Park Stormwater BMP Project from the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA). The project had two primary goals: to reduce the amount of polluted runoff that enters storm drains, streams and

Drafting stormwater regulations that are clear, comprehensive and effective is crucial to protecting and preserving receiving waters.  The Clean Water Act has yielded a wide spectrum of local stormwater regulations and policies, but many leave something to be desired when it comes to actually mitigating the impacts of urban runoff.  It has been our

Factors Impacting Rainwater Harvesting ROI When you mention a commercial rainwater harvesting system (RWH) to an engineer, developer or owner, one of the first questions you get is “what’s the ROI?” Return on Investment and Net Present Value vary widely depending on specific project variables and there is no one correct answer.  The three largest

Mother Nature’s soil is the best of all urban stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). Precipitation infilitrates the soil, reduces runoff, filters and captures most pollutants, recharges groundwater, and maintains a diverse, self-sustaining biological community.Conservation of natural soils and urbanization are diametrically opposed. When

Historically, underground infiltration beds have been laid out in either square or rectangular shapes, sometimes far away from where the actual rain drops fall. These large systems are typically fed by a series of upstream catch basins and conveyance pipes. Several factors contribute to site layout, but mostly it simplifies the hydrologic and

As an industry, we’ve acquired a vast amount of knowledge about stormwater, its adverse impacts, and the best management practices (BMPs) implemented to mitigate them. However, the spirited debate with regard to whether the field or the laboratory is the best arena for evaluating BMP performance refuses to yield to consensus. Here are some of the

Stormwater policy is put in place to control non-point source pollution and is usually tied to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES).Implementation tends to take a while – not for a lack of desire to protect our water resources, but because it is often challenging to integrate stormwater policy through the existing

After the first part of our four-part Rainwater Harvesting webinar series, Rainwater Harvesting as a Runoff Reduction Tool, participants had the opportunity to ask our Rainwater Harvesting experts questions.We didn't have enough time in the hour to answer all of the questions, so we are posting them here so that they are available to all. These

After the first part of our four-part Rainwater Harvesting webinar series, Rainwater Harvesting as a Runoff Reduction Tool, participants had the opportunity to ask our Rainwater Harvesting experts questions.We didn't have enough time in the hour to answer all of the questions, so we are posting them here so that they are available to all.These were