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Environmental Engineer:
Applied Research and Practice
Potential Impacts of Extensive Stormwater Infiltration in Philadelphia
Authors: Mark Maimone, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, BCEE, Daniel E. O'Rourke, P.G., James O. Knighton, Casey P. Thomas
Abstract
There is an emerging trend in urban stormwater management, as more and more major U.S. cities are considering green stormwater infrastructure to reduce stormwater impacts to their separate and combined sewers. "Green stormwater infrastructure" (GSI) is a term used to refer to a number of strategies for handling storm precipitation at its source, rather than after it has entered a sewer system. It often relies heavily on systems designed to infiltrate stormwater. The Philadelphia Water Department's (PWD) proposed Long Term Control Plan Update for Combined Sewer Overflow control calls for "greening" more than 40 percent of the city's impervious cover in the coming 25 years. This is the most ambitious use of GSI being proposed to date by a major U.S. city. Although GSI is being widely tested and implemented, urban applications at the scale at which Philadelphia proposes is unprecedented. One of the key concerns associated with urban GSI is the long-term impact of enhanced recharge on the groundwater table. PWD has examined rising groundwater table concerns using groundwater models. Models have been developed on the local level nearby proposed infiltration structures to assess groundwater mounding, as well as on a city-wide scale to assess the long-term impacts of the GSI program. Modeling shows that the water table could mound beneath the trench up to about 1 m following significant rain events; however, the mounding drops off quickly at distances of several meters from the infiltration facility and dissipates over several days. Keeping infiltration facilities more than 3 meters from nearby structures should avoid any problems with basement flooding. At full implementation of PWD's program, the groundwater table could eventually stabilize up to 1.5 meters higher than its current level in some areas of the city, but this would occur in areas where the groundwater table is more than 3 meters deep.
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NOTE: Applied Research and Practice is published as part of Environmental Engineer, the Quarterly Periodical of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. All journals are copyrighted by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. All rights are reserved. No part of any journal paper obtained may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. By downloading a journal, you agree to these terms.
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News
May 22, 2012
AAEE thanks the following sponsors of the 2012 AAEE Annual Awards and Technical Conference.
AEESP/AAEE Department and Program Chairs Conference, July 29-31, Ohio State University
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