Sharing information
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Jan
Oct 11, 2010, 5:12:52 PM10/11/10
to BPNA Stormwater Working Group
Hi All,
Below is more information I found while trying to learn more about
best practices for urban storm water options. Here is a photo of a
curbless urban swale I found (http://www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/
LID_studies/amended_soils.htm.). This street has sidewalks, and I am
not suggesting that we add sidewalks. It's just that all the urban
photo I find have sidewalks!
Sharing information with one another is really important so we all can
start understand what other cities are doing about the same kind of
problems. The utilities department have many, many projects. They
don’t have a lot of time to come up with new ideas for us so if we can
help them that would be great. (along with educating ourselves in the
process).
It seems like there is a distinction between urban swales and rural
swales. Each seem to be designed differently. Jeff, do you have any
resources on urban swales that you can share with us???? I would love
to understand options. Soil and plant types seem to be really
important too. In hopes of sharing, I’m trying to send information I
find in when I get a chance to do some research.
This weekend I noticed that CUB was doing a curbed project in Blue
Ridge and wondered what the criteria was for this vs. our project.
Like BP, Blue Ridge does not have sidewalks or curbs.
The case project below was a retrofit in an older neighborhood like
ours in many ways.
Jan
Project Statement
The NE Siskiyou Green Street is regarded as one of Portland’s best
green street stormwater retrofit examples. The first of its kind
anywhere, this project replaces the parking zone of a typical
residential street with landscaped stormwater curb extensions designed
to capture street stormwater runoff. Built in the fall of 2003, the NE
Siskiyou Green Street project exemplifies the principles of
sustainable stormwater management and showcases the value of simple,
cost effective, and innovative design solutions.
Narrative Summary
The NE Siskiyou Green Street project is unique to Portland and the
United States in the way this quiet, 80 year-old residential street
has been transformed to sustainably manage its stormwater runoff. As
part of the City of Portland’s commitment to promote a more natural
approach to urban stormwater management, this “green street” project
carves out a portion of the street’s parking zone and converts it into
two landscaped curb extensions. Conventional curb extensions are often
used for traffic calming and pedestrian safety. The curb extensions at
NE Siskiyou Street share many of the same benefits of conventional
curb extensions, however they are different in that they are also
designed to elegantly capture, slow, cleanse, and infiltrate street
runoff. Constructed in the fall of 2003, this street retrofit project
demonstrates how both new and existing streets can be designed to
provide direct environmental benefits and be aesthetically integrated
into the neighborhood streetscape. Though this green street project
maintains a strong functional component, it is the aesthetic appeal
and intrigue of the new and improved NE Siskiyou Street that has the
design community, developers, policy makers, and local citizens
excited about green street design opportunities. Since its completion
in 2003, the NE Siskiyou Green Street project has been a successful
“catalyst” project by providing inspiration for the development of
other green street projects throughout the United States.
Special Design Considerations and Project Goals
Because The NE Siskiyou Green Street Project was the first of its
kind, the design, coordination, and permitting with other City Bureaus
took almost a year to complete. Public outreach to the residents was
extensive to assure acceptability and consensus. The effort has paid
off in terms of widespread community acceptance. In fact, the City now
has a waiting list of Portland residents who want similar landscaped
stormwater facilities built on their own streets. The fact that this
is a publicly designed and constructed facility provides a unique
opportunity to bring government together with its citizens in a
creative and positive partnership. The NE Siskiyou Green Street
project has achieved three primary goals: 1) it is low-cost in its
design and execution; 2) it benefits the environment and embodies
community livability; and 3) it provides a model for other
jurisdictions in addressing important national and local stormwater
regulations. These landscaped stormwater curb extensions are beautiful
to look at and bring natural hydrologic functions back into the city.
However to be a viable tool for innovative stormwater management, the
NE Siskiyou Green Street Project needed to be relatively simple to
construct, as maintenance friendly as possible, and cost effective.
Using stormwater checkdams made out of packed earth covered with river
rock is one example of a simple, attractive, and environmentally
sustainable design element that costs very little to install. Cost
effective solutions such as these allowed the project to be built for
under $20,000.
How does the NE Siskiyou Green Street Work?
Stormwater runoff from 10,000 square feet of NE Siskiyou Street and
neighboring driveways flows downhill along the existing curb until it
reaches the 7-foot wide, 50-foot long curb extensions. An 18-inch wide
curb cut allows this water to enter each curb extension. Once water is
within the landscape area, the water is retained to a depth of 7
inches by a series of checkdams. Depending on the intensity of a rain
event, water will cascade from one "cell" to another until plants and
soil absorb the runoff or until the curb extensions reach their
storage capacity. The landscape system in place infiltrates water at a
rate of 3 inches per hour. If a storm is intense enough, water will
exit the landscape area through another curb cut at the end of each
curb extension and will flow into the existing street inlets. With the
new stormwater curb extensions now in place, nearly all of NE
Siskiyou’s annual street runoff, estimated at 225,000 gallons, is
managed by its landscape system. In fact, multiple simulated flow
tests have shown that the curb extensions at NE Siskiyou Street have
the ability to reduce the runoff intensity of a typical 25-year storm
event by 85 percent. Where communities struggle with ever-increasing
impervious areas and degraded water quality, these simple landscape
approaches can have a measurable positive impact.
The Planting is the Key
Plants and soil are key functional elements of all landscaped
stormwater facilities. This natural system approach improves the
quality of the urban runoff through bio-retention processes and helps
restore lost hydrologic functions in urbanized areas. The plants
selected for the NE Siskiyou Green Street are primarily Pacific
Northwest natives, such as Oregon grape, sword fern, and grooved rush.
Adaptable ornamental species such as blue oat grass, boxleaf euonymus,
and New Zealand sedge, were also planted because these species are low-
maintenance and fit very well in the neighborhood context. All of the
selected plant species are low-growing evergreen varieties with
varying colors and textures which always provide year-round interest.
The native grooved rush (Juncus patens) planted within the shallow
areas of each stormwater curb extension is the workhorse for
stormwater management. The upright growth structure of Juncus patens
slows down water flow and captures pollutants while its deep
penetrating roots work well for water absorption. The highlight for NE
Siskiyou Street residents each year comes at springtime when they see
a collage of both daffodils and iris species blooming within the
stormwater curb extensions, just as they do in their own front yards.
Community Involvement
The success of neighborhood stormwater projects like the NE Siskiyou
Green Street is dependent on community involvement. The residents were
active participants in the design process. Multiple "street side
chats" were conducted during the summer of 2003 to determine how much
parking to remove and what planting schemes they desired, as well as
to answer any questions and address any concerns. Communication with
the neighbors continues to this day in the form of surveys and site
visits to determine the overall success of the project from the
neighborhood perspective.
In a unique partnership, the City and the neighborhood residents have
agreed to share responsibilities in maintaining the landscaped
stormwater curb extensions. To further engage the community, a small
interpretative sign has been placed at the project site to describe
how the stormwater facilities function, as well as how to find more
information on sustainable stormwater management practices.
The aesthetic appeal and intrigue of the new stormwater facilities
creates a community asset that promotes both environmental stewardship
and education at the neighborhood level. The NE Siskiyou Green Street
project has caught the attention Portland locals as well as visitors
from all over the United States, Europe, and Asia who find this small
retrofit project as an example to follow.
Below is more information I found while trying to learn more about
best practices for urban storm water options. Here is a photo of a
curbless urban swale I found (http://www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/
LID_studies/amended_soils.htm.). This street has sidewalks, and I am
not suggesting that we add sidewalks. It's just that all the urban
photo I find have sidewalks!
Sharing information with one another is really important so we all can
start understand what other cities are doing about the same kind of
problems. The utilities department have many, many projects. They
don’t have a lot of time to come up with new ideas for us so if we can
help them that would be great. (along with educating ourselves in the
process).
It seems like there is a distinction between urban swales and rural
swales. Each seem to be designed differently. Jeff, do you have any
resources on urban swales that you can share with us???? I would love
to understand options. Soil and plant types seem to be really
important too. In hopes of sharing, I’m trying to send information I
find in when I get a chance to do some research.
This weekend I noticed that CUB was doing a curbed project in Blue
Ridge and wondered what the criteria was for this vs. our project.
Like BP, Blue Ridge does not have sidewalks or curbs.
The case project below was a retrofit in an older neighborhood like
ours in many ways.
Jan
Project Statement
The NE Siskiyou Green Street is regarded as one of Portland’s best
green street stormwater retrofit examples. The first of its kind
anywhere, this project replaces the parking zone of a typical
residential street with landscaped stormwater curb extensions designed
to capture street stormwater runoff. Built in the fall of 2003, the NE
Siskiyou Green Street project exemplifies the principles of
sustainable stormwater management and showcases the value of simple,
cost effective, and innovative design solutions.
Narrative Summary
The NE Siskiyou Green Street project is unique to Portland and the
United States in the way this quiet, 80 year-old residential street
has been transformed to sustainably manage its stormwater runoff. As
part of the City of Portland’s commitment to promote a more natural
approach to urban stormwater management, this “green street” project
carves out a portion of the street’s parking zone and converts it into
two landscaped curb extensions. Conventional curb extensions are often
used for traffic calming and pedestrian safety. The curb extensions at
NE Siskiyou Street share many of the same benefits of conventional
curb extensions, however they are different in that they are also
designed to elegantly capture, slow, cleanse, and infiltrate street
runoff. Constructed in the fall of 2003, this street retrofit project
demonstrates how both new and existing streets can be designed to
provide direct environmental benefits and be aesthetically integrated
into the neighborhood streetscape. Though this green street project
maintains a strong functional component, it is the aesthetic appeal
and intrigue of the new and improved NE Siskiyou Street that has the
design community, developers, policy makers, and local citizens
excited about green street design opportunities. Since its completion
in 2003, the NE Siskiyou Green Street project has been a successful
“catalyst” project by providing inspiration for the development of
other green street projects throughout the United States.
Special Design Considerations and Project Goals
Because The NE Siskiyou Green Street Project was the first of its
kind, the design, coordination, and permitting with other City Bureaus
took almost a year to complete. Public outreach to the residents was
extensive to assure acceptability and consensus. The effort has paid
off in terms of widespread community acceptance. In fact, the City now
has a waiting list of Portland residents who want similar landscaped
stormwater facilities built on their own streets. The fact that this
is a publicly designed and constructed facility provides a unique
opportunity to bring government together with its citizens in a
creative and positive partnership. The NE Siskiyou Green Street
project has achieved three primary goals: 1) it is low-cost in its
design and execution; 2) it benefits the environment and embodies
community livability; and 3) it provides a model for other
jurisdictions in addressing important national and local stormwater
regulations. These landscaped stormwater curb extensions are beautiful
to look at and bring natural hydrologic functions back into the city.
However to be a viable tool for innovative stormwater management, the
NE Siskiyou Green Street Project needed to be relatively simple to
construct, as maintenance friendly as possible, and cost effective.
Using stormwater checkdams made out of packed earth covered with river
rock is one example of a simple, attractive, and environmentally
sustainable design element that costs very little to install. Cost
effective solutions such as these allowed the project to be built for
under $20,000.
How does the NE Siskiyou Green Street Work?
Stormwater runoff from 10,000 square feet of NE Siskiyou Street and
neighboring driveways flows downhill along the existing curb until it
reaches the 7-foot wide, 50-foot long curb extensions. An 18-inch wide
curb cut allows this water to enter each curb extension. Once water is
within the landscape area, the water is retained to a depth of 7
inches by a series of checkdams. Depending on the intensity of a rain
event, water will cascade from one "cell" to another until plants and
soil absorb the runoff or until the curb extensions reach their
storage capacity. The landscape system in place infiltrates water at a
rate of 3 inches per hour. If a storm is intense enough, water will
exit the landscape area through another curb cut at the end of each
curb extension and will flow into the existing street inlets. With the
new stormwater curb extensions now in place, nearly all of NE
Siskiyou’s annual street runoff, estimated at 225,000 gallons, is
managed by its landscape system. In fact, multiple simulated flow
tests have shown that the curb extensions at NE Siskiyou Street have
the ability to reduce the runoff intensity of a typical 25-year storm
event by 85 percent. Where communities struggle with ever-increasing
impervious areas and degraded water quality, these simple landscape
approaches can have a measurable positive impact.
The Planting is the Key
Plants and soil are key functional elements of all landscaped
stormwater facilities. This natural system approach improves the
quality of the urban runoff through bio-retention processes and helps
restore lost hydrologic functions in urbanized areas. The plants
selected for the NE Siskiyou Green Street are primarily Pacific
Northwest natives, such as Oregon grape, sword fern, and grooved rush.
Adaptable ornamental species such as blue oat grass, boxleaf euonymus,
and New Zealand sedge, were also planted because these species are low-
maintenance and fit very well in the neighborhood context. All of the
selected plant species are low-growing evergreen varieties with
varying colors and textures which always provide year-round interest.
The native grooved rush (Juncus patens) planted within the shallow
areas of each stormwater curb extension is the workhorse for
stormwater management. The upright growth structure of Juncus patens
slows down water flow and captures pollutants while its deep
penetrating roots work well for water absorption. The highlight for NE
Siskiyou Street residents each year comes at springtime when they see
a collage of both daffodils and iris species blooming within the
stormwater curb extensions, just as they do in their own front yards.
Community Involvement
The success of neighborhood stormwater projects like the NE Siskiyou
Green Street is dependent on community involvement. The residents were
active participants in the design process. Multiple "street side
chats" were conducted during the summer of 2003 to determine how much
parking to remove and what planting schemes they desired, as well as
to answer any questions and address any concerns. Communication with
the neighbors continues to this day in the form of surveys and site
visits to determine the overall success of the project from the
neighborhood perspective.
In a unique partnership, the City and the neighborhood residents have
agreed to share responsibilities in maintaining the landscaped
stormwater curb extensions. To further engage the community, a small
interpretative sign has been placed at the project site to describe
how the stormwater facilities function, as well as how to find more
information on sustainable stormwater management practices.
The aesthetic appeal and intrigue of the new stormwater facilities
creates a community asset that promotes both environmental stewardship
and education at the neighborhood level. The NE Siskiyou Green Street
project has caught the attention Portland locals as well as visitors
from all over the United States, Europe, and Asia who find this small
retrofit project as an example to follow.
Mary Miller
Oct 12, 2010, 12:26:00 PM10/12/10
to bpna-stormwate...@googlegroups.com
Jan,
Could you say where in Blue Ridge this is? I'd like to go see it.
Thanks,
Mary
From: Jan <j...@sorbydesignstudio.com>
To: BPNA Stormwater Working Group <bpna-stormwate...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Mon, October 11, 2010 5:12:52 PM
Subject: Sharing information
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Jan Sorby
Oct 12, 2010, 5:49:58 PM10/12/10
to bpna-stormwate...@googlegroups.com
Mary,
Great meeting today, it was so much fun and productive. That is my idea of a positive meeting vs. the one at utilities last week, sigh.
Blue Ridge is off of Hwy 37 as you go out of town toward Indy. It is on your right, past the visitors center. It is a very curvy subdivision.
http://www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/stormwater/toolkit/swales.html is the url for the site that I found the best information on swales yet. It talks about dry and wet swales, how they are built, applications and best practices.
Jan
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