Engineering Asked on March 6, 2021
As an energy engineer focused on energy efficiency in the built environment, I am familiar with the standards and codes covering energy use in buildings; specifically ASHRAE 90.1, the “Energy Standard for Buildings,” and IECC 2018, the “International Energy Conservation Code.”
Recently several areas of increasing concern are intersecting with this work, such as indoor air quality, but also stormwater management:
Stormwater management is the effort to reduce runoff of rainwater or melted snow into streets, lawns and other sites and the improvement of water quality, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Source)
My question is what engineering codes and/or standards govern stormwater management in and around buildings?
Some teams we work with are concerned about how to manage the water which falls on the roof of the buildings they are designing. Are there guidelines related to collecting and/or treating this water before diverting it?
Note: my work is within the U.S., but I’m also interested to know of standards or codes that are in use in other countries.
I came across a project with stormwater requirements referenced to the code I was trying to identify -- the International Plumbing Code. Two chapters are relevant to what I've been trying to find.
About this chapter: Rainfall onto buildings must be removed and directed to a location that can accommodate storm water. Chapter 11 specifies the design rainfall event for the geographic area and provides sizing methods for piping and gutter systems to convey the storm water away from the building. Included in this chapter are regulations for piping materials and subsoil drainage systems.
Chapter 13, Nonpotable Water Systems:
About this chapter: Storm water and some liquid waste from a building can be a source of nonpotable water that can be used to reduce the volume of potable water supplied to the building. Chapter 13 provides the requirements for storage, treatment and distribution of this resource. This chapter also regulates the piping systems for reclaimed water supplied by a wastewater treatment facility.
Answered by LShaver on March 6, 2021
I answer this with a perspective from the United Kingdom. With an annual problem of flooding of low-lying areas especially in the Worcester area West of Birmingham the national government has written new laws that specified new housing estates and construction sites must hold 50% of water runoff and prove it before building planning can be approved. As far as I am aware there are no building codes in the eurocodes that specifically deal with stormwater runoff. More often than not stormwater runoff is dealt with by means of concrete structures that are inserted underground such as pipeworks and drainage ditches and even urban rivers lined with concrete. from this perspective, such structures are covered by Eurocode 1 and 2.
This document maybe of use to you in this regard. [Stormwater management][1]. An important consideration is that maybe stormwater should be dealt with in a more effective ways such as pipes that have holes to allow them to act as soakaways on route to a river and thereby allowing the ground that they are buried in to absorb a fair amount of water before actually reaches the river system
Answered by Rhodie on March 6, 2021
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