It has become more common in our area to use an irrigation system as a way to dispose of collected stormwater. On paper this sounds like a very environmentally friendly solution. However, many engineers and architects are failing to see the the full potential of installing an irrigation system. Their narratives discuss disposal of the water and dosage information. One could easily confuse their irrigation narratives with that of an on-site septic system. It is very clear that their goal is to get rid of the water as soon as possible. However, is this sustainable? If we install solar panels, and we have multiple sunny days, should we turn on all the lights to get rid of our abundance of collected electricity?
On a recent project, we were able to irrigate most of the site, with only collected stormwater. The irrigation system is programmed to operate above the plant material ET rates and below maximum soil loading rates. The basin will be completely drained once a year by the irrigation system. We estimate this to occur in October. If the quick disposal method were followed, we would irrigate at the maximum soil loading rate. We estimated that we would run out of water 4 months of the year, probably resulting in some brown turf.
Which way do you feel is more sustainable and looks holistically at site design?
