Capacity Testing of Stormwater Treatment Practices

Abstract

A stormwater treatment practice can be assessed by testing, which involves making a series of measurements under conditions that are not a result of a natural runoff event. Capacity testing involves either the measurement of sediment surface elevations within a stormwater treatment practice or making measurements to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil within the practice. This chapter discusses how capacity testing can be applied to various stormwater treatment practices and also includes examples demonstrating how the obtained data can be used to schedule maintenance. The chapter concludes with a case study involving the assessment of infiltration rates in a bioinfiltration practice (i.e., rain garden).