Stormwater Runoff Analysis of Low Impact Development Using Real Time Precipitation Data

With increasing concern for stormwater management in urban context, urban planners and water resources specialists now emphasize the importance of infiltrating groundwater on-site to aid stormwater management with minimal treatment. Permeable pavers and infiltration planters have become more popular in urban areas due to their ability to increase infiltration and reduce runoff and the ease of retrofitting them into developed areas. Permeable pavers and infiltration planters retrofitted in Argyle Street, Chicago were modelled using EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to evaluate the effectiveness of low impact development strategies in reducing runoff and contributing to stormwater management. Using the SWMM model and continuous rainfall depth collected from an on-site rain gauge for 12 months showed a 29% reduction in runoff volume. The percentage change in runoff volume totals ranged from 28% to 62% for different rain storm events—i.e., 100yr 24hr, 50yr 24hr, 25yr 24hr, 10yr 24hr, 5yr 24hr, 2yr 24hr, 1yr 24hr, 1yr 2hr, 1yr 1hr, 1yr 30min, and 1yr 15min. The necessary parameters to populate SWMM were derived from the “Contract Plans” (CDOT, 2016) received from the Chicago Department of Transportation and rainfall data was collected from the Chicago Data Portal.