Factors affecting the infiltration rate and removal of suspended solids in gravel-filled stormwater management structures

Apparent changes in the natural hydrologic cycle causing more frequent floods in urban areas and surface water quality impairment have led stormwater management solutions towards the use of green and sustainable practices that aims to replicate pre-urbanization hydrology. Among the widely documented applications are infiltration techniques that temporarily store rainfall runoff while promoting evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge through infiltration, and diffuse pollutant reduction. In this study, a laboratory-scale infiltration device was built to be able to observe and determine the factors affecting flow variations and corresponding solids removal through a series of experiments employing semi-synthetic stormwater runoff. Results reveal that runoff and solids reduction is greatly influenced by the infiltration capability of the underlying soil which is also affected by rainfall intensity and the available depth for water storage. For gravel-filled structures, a depth of at least 1 m and subsoil infiltration rates of not more than 200 mm/h are suggested for optimum volume reduction and pollutant removal. Moreover, it was found that the length of the structure is more critical than the depth for applications in low infiltration soils. These findings provide a contribution to existing guidelines and current understanding in design and applicability of infiltration systems.