Half of the university’s existing building is being renovated, and a 54,000 square feet building will be added to an existing interior large courtyard. Due to the construction and the increase of impervious area, additional stormwater storage was needed to meet the Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) stormwater ordinances for water quality and quantity.
The engineering team for this project faced two main challenges when seeking a stormwater management solution. First, the space available for a detention basin was limited. There were existing underground utilities that could not be moved and had to be worked around. Second, the future stormwater system should be able to support heavy loadings throughout the long construction phase.
The SmithGroup team teamed up with StormTrap to provide a solution. A 5’-0’’ tall SingleTrap system, made of reinforced high-strength concrete, was designed to fit in a small area and exceed H20 loading requirements. “StormTrap allowed for a compact footprint with added resiliency to future loading from construction and maintenance machinery,” affirmed Emily McKinnon, PE, Water Resources Engineer at SmithGroup.
The basin provided total water storage of 2,166 cf designed to detain the runoff volume for the 100-year, 24-hour storm event, including an additional 20% of the runoff capacity. The system also offered water quality benefits by using the detention structure for settlement. “The outlet of the structure was raised 3 inches from the floor invert to allow for sediment settling to help with water quality measures,” explained McKinnon.
The system was easily installed in one day by Eagle Excavation, Inc. in the western portion of the existing courtyard between the current building and the future building addition. The full project is expected to be completed in early 2022.
Editor's Note: Scranton Gillette Communications and the SGC Water Group are not liable for the accuracy, efficacy and validity of the claims made in this piece. The views expressed in this content do not reflect the position of the editorial teams of Water & Wastes Digest, Water Quality Products and Storm Water Solutions.
