[Greenbuilding] Stormwater management

Tue Apr 15 18:38:01 CDT 2014

Thanks Mike, 

Biochar can be made from wood chips, making the particle size larger and
easier to fit into a bag. Typically the energy from burning the wood is used
in other applications and the charcoal is left over.  It's not activated
charcoal, but it's got a similar ability to stick to oils and it often
better than activated char at adsorbing metals.   

It also has a handy property of having larger pore sizes than activated
charcoal, so it will provides some good habitat to any beneficial microbes
that are hanging out in the soils.  Biochar seems pretty good at helping
plants survive in bio-swale,  bio-retention  and planted bio-filter
applications. It tends to filter out pollutants like pesticides and animal
medicines, lowering toxicity levels of pollutants that may simply be in the
soil from other causes.  If you are lucky enough to have some pollutant
eating bacteria and microbes in the soil, they will tend to eat the
pollutants that have been captured by the char.  Those ancient Amazonians
were pretty smart. 

I'm noodling away on the idea of it, not trying to sell a particular
product.  I've seen in-drain mounted retro-fit filters, the plastic
barriers, and other ideas.  I was just wondering if there were any
preferences for one type of filter and/or water control over another.   I'm
sure it's fairly site and problem specific. 

Kind regards,

Erin Rasmussen

erin at trmiles.com 

From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org]
On Behalf Of Michael O'Brien
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2014 11:04 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Stormwater management

Hi, Erin--

Thanks, I enjoyed the link--who knew "biochar" had left the Amazon and
become an ingredient in stormwater control?

Just thinking out loud, I don't know anything about the ability of biochar
to manage pollutants. Is it different from charcoal?

Activated carbon (which has been steam heated to expand its surface area)
does do a good job of adsorbing things like oil or metals. I think of those
as pollutants found in water on streets and parking lots, emitted from
vehicles. On a building site itself, would they be an issue?

Activated carbon might be a challenge to contain in a bag that was still
permeable to pollutants.

Best,

Mike

Mike O'Brien Photography

mikeoregon.zenfolio.com

On Apr 9, 2014, at 9:08 AM, Erin Rasmussen <erin at trmiles.com> wrote:

Thanks Mike,

Would a product that's similar to biobags but does a better job of retaining
any metals, contaminants or landscaping stuff be useful? I'm looking at
whether something that incorporates a charcoal type filter,  similar to
these Storm Guard filtration bags.   <http://earth-lite.com/?page_id=132>
http://earth-lite.com/?page_id=132

(Price is always a factor, obviously).

kind regards,

Erin Rasmussen

 <mailto:erin at trmiles.com> erin at trmiles.com

From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org]
On Behalf Of Michael O'Brien
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 10:14 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Eco-Utopia and Stormwater management

Hi, Erin--

As you know, the code only requires managing soil erosion during
construction, which is usually done with biobags--chips in netting--or black
plastic fencing. 

Our site is very well drained so rain water soaked in quickly during
construction--our part of Overlook neighborhood seems to be a huge sandbar.
We laid down that black permeable garden fabric and a layer of wood chips on
top of it to creat a clean work area. After construction we pulled up the
fabric and left the chips as mulch.

Best,

Mike

Mike O'Brien Photography

 <http://mikeoregon.zenfolio.com/> mikeoregon.zenfolio.com

On Apr 7, 2014, at 9:53 AM, Erin Rasmussen < <mailto:erin at trmiles.com>
erin at trmiles.com> wrote:

I've read the stormwater regulations. I was just wondering how you put
things into practice when you're working on a building or remodeling
project.  I know there are some dedicated professionals on the list, and I
was wondering if there are any tools or techniques they prefer to control
water flow while working on a project.   I'm sure you have experience
protecting sensitive watersheds from building impact, or with rain in urban
areas or just mitigating against potential muddy run-off problems.

An aside:  I have rain-barrels in a small lot in Portland. I tried them out
last year, even though the math said that they were impractical, but I found
that even a super small scale system helped 'tide the garden over' between
infrequent rain events.

Erin Rasmussen

 <mailto:erin at trmiles.com> erin at trmiles.com

From: Greenbuilding [
<mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org>
mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Michael
O'Brien
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 8:18 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Eco-Utopia and Stormwater management

Hi, Erin--

A very good question, and as Marian points out, one with many potential
answers depending on the site, building design, regulations and so on.

Here in Portland the city is subdivided into lots, which limits your
options--all your stormwater must be managed on 5 or 6,000 square feet--so
must be integrated into the building itself and/or in the yard spaces. City
regulations now require on-site solutions unless not feasible for reasons
beyond your control.

In our case, we put an 800 SF ecoroof on the sloped roof over a one-story
part of our house. It is readily accessible from a terrace on the second
floor, without having to get up on a ladder. After seven years, it's been
pretty easy, I am feeding it this spring for the first time. The soil has
settled but seems to be staying in place on the slope. The roof is very
pretty when all the sedums bloom.

The eave gutters drain into two dry wells, so that water helps replenish
groundwater.

We thought about burying a large cistern to store rainwater, but it would
have added substantial cost to the house foundations--there was no yard
space on a 5000 SF lot where a tank would not have affected the foundations.
Rain barrels would fit, but they don't hold enough water to make much of a
difference.

Sometimes it is possible to create a bioswale on the surface, depending on
area available and soil conditions. There are native plants that like to
grow in seasonal marshes which thrive in bioswales.

Best,

Mike

Mike O'Brien Photography

 <http://mikeoregon.zenfolio.com/> mikeoregon.zenfolio.com

On Apr 7, 2014, at 6:22 AM, marian dombroski < <mailto:mdombros at gmail.com>
mdombros at gmail.com> wrote:

"Cope" is a difficult word for me when discussing SWM issues.  First step to
"coping" is to acknowledge that water is a precious resource delivered to
most of us primarily as rain.  We have a responsibility to make that a
central part of planning and design. 

As far as details go, LID and ESD are pretty good roadmaps to a functional
design.  There are an increasing number of projects that go beyond function.
Details of materials and techniques are generally readily accessible on a
project by project basis.

Please excuse me if this sounds preachy.  SWM regs are pretty dry documents
which are difficult to plow through and make sense of. Every site has unique
features.  Every design has specific issues to address. Consulting with
folks who are known for successful projects and are willing to study the
site is an effective and efficient way to achieve what it sounds like you
are looking for.

Marian

On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 1:46 PM, Erin Rasmussen < <mailto:erin at trmiles.com>
erin at trmiles.com> wrote:

Good morning Greenbuilding list,

I thought I'd annoy you with pretty drawings of eco-utopian buildings  ;)

<http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027132/this-eco-village-is-an-environmentalist
s-dream>
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027132/this-eco-village-is-an-environmentalists
-dream

I have a more serious question though - what's your favorite way of coping
with stormwater compliance when you're building/remodeling etc? Favorite
practices, products, guidelines?

Erin Rasmussen

TR Miles Technical Consultants Inc.    <http://www.trmiles.com/>
http://www.trmiles.com/

and BioEnergy Discussion Lists    <http://www.bioenergylists.org/>
http://www.bioenergylists.org/

 <mailto:erin at trmiles.com> erin at trmiles.com

Erin Rasmussen

TR Miles Technical Consultants Inc.    <http://www.trmiles.com/>
http://www.trmiles.com/

and BioEnergy Discussion Lists    <http://www.bioenergylists.org/>
http://www.bioenergylists.org/

 <mailto:erin at trmiles.com> erin at trmiles.com

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-- 
Marian Dombroski, RA, LEED AP

301.775.1191

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