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SWALE RESEARCH AT NRMRL’S URBAN WATERSHED RESEARCH FACILITY
Citation:
BORST, M., T. OCONNOR, AND A. SELVAKUMAR. SWALE RESEARCH AT NRMRL’S URBAN WATERSHED RESEARCH FACILITY. Presented at U.S. EPA Science Forum 2008, Washington, DC, May 20 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
to present information
Description:
Swales are “engineered ditches” that provide stable routing for stormwater runoff. Swales are green infrastructure, a low-cost drainage option for highways, farms, industrial, and commercial areas. Beyond enhancing local aesthetics, swales mitigate the pollutants carried by the runoff. They can also reduce both the runoff volume and peak stormwater runoff rate that can damage streams. Controlled-condition research enables the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) to better manage the research project and collect high-quality information. Operating in the field limits research because of the uncertainty of the weather, access, utilities, vandalism, and other logistical issues that collectively add greatly to the cost. On-site swales enable NRMRL to collect the high-quality data needed for engineering design. Each of the three swales is 40-m (131-ft) long. The steepest swale has a 5% slope, exceeding the upper limit established by many State governments. The flattest swale has a slope of only 0.5%, less than the lowest slope sometimes recommended. The middle swale has a 1% slope, representative of the range often cited as “preferred.” The NRMRL swale evaluation is part of a larger collection of long-term research projects that evaluates many Best Management Practices. The 20-acre Urban Watershed Research Facility is part of a larger 210-acre EPA facility operated by Region 2 in Edison, NJ.