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Bioretention Protocols

Bioretention Protocols

EOR developed a protocol for municipalities to follow prior to assuming long-term operation and maintenance of newly constructed bioretention practices. The protocol prescribes a post-construction monitoring period by the developer before issuance of a Certificate of Completion from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC) and includes five levels of certification that can be used to evaluate the design and performance of best management practices (BMPs).To compare as-built conditions to the original designs, EOR used post-construction water level data from 10 BMPs to estimate as-built hydraulic characteristics.

Ultimately, two modeling methods were included within the five levels of certification:
1 - a spreadsheet drawdown time calculation method to track infiltration rates based on use of inexpensive water level recorders; and
2 - a BMP performance calculator to estimate reductions in total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and volume.

Client Benefits

  • Innovative approach to assessing performance of bioretention devices based on quantifiable measurements.
  • Standardized site characteristic tables to promote consistency in BMP performance assessment.
  • Spreadsheet tool provides a visual illustration of BMP performance over time.
  • Summary report with recommendations for improvement of monitoring data collection and processing, and recommended improvements to the spreadsheet tool.

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