| Description |
Green infrastructure and decentralized stormwater management have become more popular in recent years. Several municipalities have begun to encourage the use of green infrastructure such as bioretention by offering drainage fee discounts for onsite stormwater management, which ultimately reduces the strain placed on municipal storm sewer systems. The cost benefit of increased onsite stormwater management using bioretention based on drainage fee discounts and the resulting cost per volume and event reduction were explored using the Environmental Protection Agency's Stormwater Management Model (EPA SWMM) and the capital and maintenance cost equations developed for the EPA's Stormwater Calculator tool. Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Lancaster, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; and Seattle, WA were chosen as test sites for this paper to explore the impacts of different stormwater fees, soil types, precipitation patterns, and discount methods. Long-term simulations were completed from 1990 to 2013 at each location for a hypothetical 1-acre commercial lot with an impervious percentage of 85%. The results showed that in all locations except Lancaster, increased bioretention size increased the cost benefit to the site owner, while also relieving strain on the municipal storm sewer system by decreasing the number of runoff events and the volume of water sent to the system. |
