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Drainage & Sewer System
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Natural Drainage Systems
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Natural Drainage Overview
Measuring Success of Natural Drainage Systems
From October of 2000 through September of 2003, the University of Washington’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering monitored the stormwater flow of the Street Edge Alternatives project (SEA Streets). The Hydrologic Monitoring Report (pdf) was produced and found that the SEA Streets project:
- • Prevented 99 percent of the wet season runoff from flowing directly into Pipers Creek between 2000 and 2003.
- • Discharges much less runoff to Pipers Creek than a traditional system. A drainage system that adheres to City of Seattle conventions would have discharged almost 100 times more runoff to Pipers Creek as the SEA Streets system.
- • Prevents more runoff from flowing directly into Pipe’s Creek as time passes. As vegetation matures, more water is absorbed through the soil.
Seattle Public Utilities is monitoring the water quality of Broadview Green Grid. A report will be available at the end of 2007.
Seattle Public Utilities began monitoring the first phase of the High Point natural drainage system in January of 2007. Data will be available in three years.
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