Seeking collaborators for new research on infiltration systems
Water Sensitive SA is hosting a workshop in August 2018 to bring together researchers and practitioners from Local Government to develop a research program to address questions about the performance of infiltration systems in Adelaide’s clay soils.
We will explore questions like:
- What scale and types of infiltration systems are effective to offset a given area of additional impervious surface
- What are the maintenance costs that should be considered?
- Can new tree plantings be sustained by stormwater infiltration alone?
Infiltration systems are an effective method of managing the excess stormwater runoff volumes generated by urban development and particularly infill development where hard surface areas increase. They consist of green spaces on private and public land; permeable pavements; infiltration pits, trenches, wells and basins; unlined raingardens and biofilters, and swales.
Infiltration techniques tend to mimic natural hydrology generating less runoff, increased evapotranspiration and potentially increased groundwater recharge.
Minimal data is available on the performance of these systems in Adelaide’s clay soils. Preliminary trials have found infiltration rates two orders of magnitude higher than expected due to heterogeneity of the soil. More research is required to measure the hydraulic performance of these systems to understand how effective they will be at infiltration over the short and long term, and what reduction will occur in stormwater runoff flow rates and volumes.
If you are a water sensitive urban design practitioner currently managing infiltration systems with:
- an existing monitoring program, or
- plans to establish a monitoring program
and would like to better understand the performance of your infiltration system, we invite you to register your interest to participate in a workshop with SA researchers to explore these opportunities.