Storm water is defined as the result of precipitation occurrences, usually due to extremely heavy rainfall. Snow melting can also contribute to post-storm levels. Health and safety reasons dictate that careful storm water management is crucial, especially in urban environments.
Storm water can carry disease as well as more mundane pollutants, and the protection of domestic water supplies and flood defences is crucial. There are possible benefits though; if storm water is carefully collected at suitable management points in an aquatic resource network the it can become a useful, and self-sustaining, water supply. Purification procedures of course need to be carefully applied before it can be used though.
Excessive run-off due to storms can cause problems in more built-up areas where many people live. The English city of Sheffield was subject to egregious and dangerous levels of flooding during the summer of 2007 after weeks of heavy rain. The subsequent disruption to everyday life for many in the city, with domestic power supplies being disrupted for example, led to refurbishment of Sheffield's aquatic management systems. River and stream banks were cleared of debris which had accumulated for years, obstructing flow, while weirs and ponds were renovated and constructed.
Such methods are typical of modern management techniques, but there are others, particularly when it comes to educating communities about the potential hazards of flooding caused by storms or freak events. Property owners often need to be appraised of certain factors; the use of garden building materials which seal off soil, for example.
Impervious surfaces in gardens and elsewhere prevent rain seeping back into the ground as it would no under normal conditions. This in turn creates more of what is termed 'surface run-off' - water which runs off buildings and surfaces after heavy rain. As the soil does not absorb as much of this as it would normally, the burden on watercourses is hugely increased in time of storm, and bank sides can suffer additional erosion as a result, leading to more problems in future. Water travels very quickly in modern urban environments thanks to efficient pipes and channels, which can also overwhelm watercourses whose capacity is already stretched by the additional surface run-off.
Impervious surfaces also cause problems in that they do not allow water supplies to re-stock themselves as efficiently as they should following flooding events. Extreme flooding often washes liquid out of the system, and if it cannot seep back into soil as it should, it often has problems reaching the appropriate storage points. This has led to some areas building more 'soft' flood defences, such as ponds and man-made wetlands, to complement the 'hard', concrete defences such as pipes and channels.
Natural resources such as rivers and lakes, and even the sea, can be affected by the pollution in surface run-off. Natural watercourse movement is disrupted, which can have disastrous consequences for the patterns of local animal life. It can also facilitate the growth of unwanted plant species too, possibly leading to a proliferation of weed or algae.
Storm flood management has been a problem for mankind since buildings were first erected. The remains of ancient systems have been found on the Greek island of Crete, at the Minoan site of Phaistos. With environmental pressures and a growing population requiring ever more water, the problems of managing aquatic resources would not seem set to vanish at any time soon.
Storm water can carry disease as well as more mundane pollutants, and the protection of domestic water supplies and flood defences is crucial. There are possible benefits though; if storm water is carefully collected at suitable management points in an aquatic resource network the it can become a useful, and self-sustaining, water supply. Purification procedures of course need to be carefully applied before it can be used though.
Excessive run-off due to storms can cause problems in more built-up areas where many people live. The English city of Sheffield was subject to egregious and dangerous levels of flooding during the summer of 2007 after weeks of heavy rain. The subsequent disruption to everyday life for many in the city, with domestic power supplies being disrupted for example, led to refurbishment of Sheffield's aquatic management systems. River and stream banks were cleared of debris which had accumulated for years, obstructing flow, while weirs and ponds were renovated and constructed.
Such methods are typical of modern management techniques, but there are others, particularly when it comes to educating communities about the potential hazards of flooding caused by storms or freak events. Property owners often need to be appraised of certain factors; the use of garden building materials which seal off soil, for example.
Impervious surfaces in gardens and elsewhere prevent rain seeping back into the ground as it would no under normal conditions. This in turn creates more of what is termed 'surface run-off' - water which runs off buildings and surfaces after heavy rain. As the soil does not absorb as much of this as it would normally, the burden on watercourses is hugely increased in time of storm, and bank sides can suffer additional erosion as a result, leading to more problems in future. Water travels very quickly in modern urban environments thanks to efficient pipes and channels, which can also overwhelm watercourses whose capacity is already stretched by the additional surface run-off.
Impervious surfaces also cause problems in that they do not allow water supplies to re-stock themselves as efficiently as they should following flooding events. Extreme flooding often washes liquid out of the system, and if it cannot seep back into soil as it should, it often has problems reaching the appropriate storage points. This has led to some areas building more 'soft' flood defences, such as ponds and man-made wetlands, to complement the 'hard', concrete defences such as pipes and channels.
Natural resources such as rivers and lakes, and even the sea, can be affected by the pollution in surface run-off. Natural watercourse movement is disrupted, which can have disastrous consequences for the patterns of local animal life. It can also facilitate the growth of unwanted plant species too, possibly leading to a proliferation of weed or algae.
Storm flood management has been a problem for mankind since buildings were first erected. The remains of ancient systems have been found on the Greek island of Crete, at the Minoan site of Phaistos. With environmental pressures and a growing population requiring ever more water, the problems of managing aquatic resources would not seem set to vanish at any time soon.
About the Author:
Storm Water Management company offers environmentally friendly Drain Field Septic System for commercial, residential or mobile use.
No comments:
Post a Comment