Drainage design

PRACTICE
NOTE 3
Analysing the site
Conventional site drainage
Alternative strategies
Wat erSmart development i nvolves si mple desi gn and
management practi ces that take advantage of natural si te
features and mi ni mi se i mpacts on the water cycle. It i s part
of the contemporary trend towards more sustai nable
soluti ons that protect the envi ronment and cost less.
Thi s WaterSmart Practi ce Note gi ves a general i ntroducti on
to drai nage desi gn and the benefi ts of usi ng alternati ve
approaches.
Drainage design
2
Introduction
Stormwater management i s a fundamental
consi derati on i n the planni ng and desi gn of urban
development. Unfortunately, i t i s often treated as a
subsi di ary i ssue that i s not addressed unti l the fi nal
stages of the planni ng and desi gn process. By
consi deri ng stormwater management at the i ni ti al
desi gn phase i t i s possi ble to ensure vi able
stormwater management soluti ons that are
compati ble wi th other desi gn obj ecti ves for the si te.
Site analysis
The best way to tak e a whole si te approach i s to
prepare a Si te A nalysi s. For detai ls, see Practice
Note 2: Site Planning. I ssues parti cularly relevant to
drai nage desi gn are descri bed below.
The si tes topography wi ll have a si gni fi cant i mpact
on the layout desi gn. Thi s i s because stormwater
drai nage systems almost always rely on gravi ty. The
layout of the development must be confi gured so as
to allow excess stormwater to be gravi ty-drai ned to
a street gutter or publi c stormwater drai n.
Topography wi ll also affect runoff onto the si te
from surroundi ng properti es. Exi sti ng overland flow
paths should be i denti fi ed and retai ned. Where
modi fi cati ons to these are unavoi dable, they should
be desi gned so as to mai ntai n exi sti ng hydrologi cal
condi ti ons.
Drai nage easements, natural watercourses and
flood prone land should also be i denti fi ed and
consi dered i n the desi gn process. I t needs to be
borne i n mi nd that drai nage easements contai ni ng
underground pi pes can operate as overland flow
paths duri ng i ntense rai nfall events. Bui ldi ngs must
be k ept clear of drai nage easements to ensure
publi c safety and to allow mai ntenance access.
Consi derati on also needs to be gi ven to local soi l
condi ti ons. Relevant factors i nclude absorpti on
capaci ty, erosi on potenti al and the possi bi li ty of soi l
contami nati on from past acti vi ti es.
Adjoining properties
O ne of the basi c pri nci ples of stormwater
management i s to avoi d adverse stormwater
i mpacts on other properti es. Careful consi derati on
must be gi ven to controlli ng surface runoff and
subsoi l drai nage to adj oi ni ng properti es.
The redi recti on and concentrati on of stormwater
flows onto nei ghbouri ng properti es may consti tute
a nui sance at common law, gi vi ng affected owners
a legal ri ght of redress.
Public safety
Stormwater runoff from rare and i ntense storm
events can pose seri ous ri sk s to li fe and property. I t
i s essenti al that the desi gn of overland flow paths,
on-si te detenti on storages and other stormwater
management measures meet relevant safety cri teri a
for pedestri ans, vehi cles and property damage.
Bui ldi ngs and accessways should be located clear of
overland flow paths, or desi gned to be compati ble
wi th the potenti al flood envi ronment. Fenci ng and
landscapi ng should be desi gned so as to mi ni mi se
the potenti al for overland flow paths to be
obstructed duri ng rare and i ntense storm events.
Relevant desi gn cri teri a can be obtai ned from your
local counci l.
Floor levels & freeboard
Floor levels of habi table bui ldi ngs must be desi gned
so as to be above the expected water levels for
overland flow paths, detenti on storages and flood
prone land. A llowance also needs to be made for
freeboard . Thi s i s an addi ti onal verti cal separati on
between the expected water level and the floor
level, the value of whi ch vari es accordi ng to local
condi ti ons and the parti cular type of flood ri sk .
Floor level and freeboard requi rements can be
obtai ned from your local counci l.
Drainage design
PRACTICE
NOTE 3
3
Conventional approaches
Conventi onal drai nage practi ces generally i nvolve
rapi d di scharge of stormwater from the si te to a
publi c drai nage system. These practi ces are
descri bed i n detai l i n numerous publi cati ons ( see
references) . The mai n obj ecti ve i s to collect and
convey stormwater to the street drai nage system
wi th a mi ni mum of nui sance, danger or damage.
Roof runoff i s di scharged vi a small di ameter pi pes
( usually 100 mm di ameter) , and surface stormwater
i s usually conveyed by overland flow. The publi c
drai nage system consi sts of a system of gutters,
streets, pi pes, culverts and channels owned and
operated by the local counci l or other authori ty.
Where the si te slopes towards the street, roof
runoff and overland flow are drai ned di rectly to the
street drai nage system ( see Fi gure 1) . Where the
si te slopes away from the street, these are
connected to the street drai nage system or a
recei vi ng waterway vi a a drai nage easement at the
rear of the property ( see Fi gure 2) . The drai nage
easement generally i ncorporates a drai nage pi pe,
and may also i nclude a table drai n on the ground
surface for the collecti on of overland flow.
Fig 1: Conventional drainage - to street
Fig 2: Conventional drainage - to rear of property
Problems with
conventional practice
The maj ori ty of stormwater runoff i n urban area i s
from i mpervi ous surfaces such as roofs, paved areas
and roads. Except i n the case of maj or storms, li ttle
or no runoff occurs from pervi ous surfaces such as
lawns, gardens and landscaped areas. Urbani sati on
has dramati cally i ncreased the area of i mpervi ous
surfaces. Thi s i n turn has resulted i n i ncreased peak
di scharges and greater volumes of runoff per storm.
The di rect di scharge of roofwater and overland flow
to the street drai nage system under conventi onal
drai nage practi ces causes rapi d and concentrated
di scharges of stormwater. Thi s contri butes to
i ncreased floodi ng, erosi on and sedi mentati on, and
reduced stormwater quali ty. These problems can be
mi ti gated by measures that delay stormwater
di scharges and that reduce the total volume of
stormwater di scharged.

Downpipe
Roof runoff
directed to
street via
small
diameter
pipes
Kerb and gutter
Surface runoff
directed to street
Slope
No surface
runoff to
adjoining
properties
Footpath

Downpipe
Kerb and gutter
Slope
No surface
runoff to
adjoining
properties
Footpath
Drainage easement and
overland flow path
Inter-
allotment
drainage
pipe Roof runoff
directed to
drainage
easement via
small
diameter
pipes
Surface runoff to
drainage easement
Drainage design
7
Whats the alternative?
A lternati ve stormwater management measures,
when used i n conj uncti on wi th conventi onal
practi ces, have many cost, aestheti c and envi ron-
mental benefi ts. For example, roof runoff can be
managed usi ng rai nwater tank s and i nfi ltrati on
trenches. Paved areas can be mi ni mi sed or replaced
wi th porous pavi ng. Runoff can also be managed by
a vari ety of landscape measures and practi ces.
These measures reduce the volume of stormwater
runoff and the rate at whi ch i t i s di scharged to the
street drai nage system. Fi gure 3 shows how these
measures can be combi ned on a typi cal resi denti al
lot. For further detai ls on how to i mplement these
measures, see the other Practi ce Notes i n thi s seri es.
Fig 3: Example of an alternative drainage strategy
Useful websites
www. eng. newcastle. edu. au/~ cegak /Coombes
www. dbce. csi ro. au/urbanwater
www. catchment. crc. org. au
References
A rgue, J. R. ( 1986) . Storm Drainage Design in Small
Urban Catchments: a Handbook for Australian
Practice. ( Speci al Report No. 34) , A ustrali an Road
Research Board.
A rgue, J. R. ( 2002) . On-site Retention of
Stormwater: Introduction and Design Procedures.
Urban Water Resources Centre, Uni versi ty of South
A ustrali a, A delai de.
Carleton, M . G . & I ng ( 1992) . Stormflow reducti on
usi ng si te i nfi ltrati on-detenti on , Proc. International
Symposium on Urban Stormwater Management,
Sydney, The I nsti tuti on of Engi neers, A ustrali a.
I nsti tuti on of Engi neers A ustrali a ( 1987) . Australian
Rainfall and Runoff: A Guide to Flood Estimation. 2
Volumes. I EA , Canberra.
Other practice notes
O ther WaterSmart Practi ce Notes are avai lable i n
thi s seri es:
No. 1 The WaterSmart Home
No. 2 Si te Planni ng
No. 3 Drai nage Desi gn
No. 4 Rai nwater Tank s
No. 5 I nfi ltrati on Devi ces
No. 6 Pavi ng
No. 7 Landscape M easures
No, 8 Landscape Practi ces
No. 9 Wastewater Reuse
No. 10 G roundwater
No. 11 Si te di scharge i ndex
To obtai n copi es, please telephone 02 4962 0918.
Principal Author: Peter Coombes. Design and Layout by Planning Plus.
Thi s Practi ce Note i s publi shed by the Lower Hunter and Central
Coast Regi onal Envi ronmental M anagement Strategy ( LHCCREM S)
as part of i ts ongoi ng program to promote better urban water
cycle management. 2002 LHCCREM S ( HRO C as legal agent) .
House
Roof water
Carriageway
Tank
Car
parking
space
Retention trench
Lawn area kept
to a minimum
Street drainage system
Vegetable garden
4