When rain falls on an undeveloped property, much of the water can naturally soak into the ground, move through vegetation, or follow existing drainage patterns. Development changes that equation. Buildings, parking lots, roads, sidewalks, and other surfaces prevent water from infiltrating the soil and can increase the amount and speed of stormwater runoff. Without proper planning, that runoff can contribute to erosion, flooding, drainage problems, and water-quality issues. For developers, property owners, and municipalities, effective stormwater management needs to be considered early in the development process, not after the site has already been designed. This is where Viox & Viox can play an important role in stormwater management for development sites with our civil engineering expertise.
What Is Stormwater Management?
Stormwater management is the process of planning and designing systems that control the quantity, direction, and quality of runoff generated by rainfall and snowmelt. On a development site, civil engineers evaluate how water currently moves across the property and determine how proposed improvements will change those drainage patterns. The goal isn’t simply to move water away from a building or parking lot. A well-designed stormwater system should help:
- Reduce flooding and localized drainage problems
- Control the rate and volume of runoff
- Minimize erosion
- Protect surrounding properties
- Reduce pollutants entering waterways
- Meet applicable stormwater requirements
- Integrate drainage infrastructure into the overall site design
As development increases impenetrable surfaces, stormwater runoff can increase in both volume and velocity. That makes stormwater management an important part of responsible site development.
How Civil Engineers Address Stormwater Problems
Civil engineers don’t use a single solution for every development site. Instead, we evaluate the site’s characteristics and develop a stormwater management approach that fits the project. Before designing a stormwater system, engineers need to understand the property. This can include evaluating:
- Existing drainage patterns
- Property topography
- Soil conditions
- Existing streams and drainage features
- Wetlands and other environmental constraints
- Existing storm sewer infrastructure
- Nearby properties and roadways
- Proposed site improvements
Topographic surveying and site analysis can help establish existing elevations and drainage patterns. This information gives the design team a better understanding of where water currently flows and what could change once construction begins.
How Viox & Viox Approaches Stormwater Management
At Viox & Viox, stormwater management for development sites is part of a broader civil engineering and site-development process. Our firm provides civil/site design, stormwater management, green infrastructure, road and utility infrastructure, 3D site modeling, surveying, planning and zoning, and other services that can be coordinated throughout a development project.
Viox & Viox has worked on projects throughout Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and beyond, including commercial, residential, industrial, municipal, mixed-use, and road/utility projects. One example is the Factory 52 mixed-use development in Norwood, Ohio. The project required new stormwater detention and water-quality systems designed to meet applicable City of Norwood and Ohio EPA requirements.
That type of project demonstrates why stormwater management for development sites needs to be considered alongside grading, buildings, roads, utilities, landscaping, and the other elements that make up a development.