Presented to the Civil Engineering Department

De La Salle University - Manila

Term 1,​ ​A.Y. 2018 - 2019

In partial fulfillment
of the course
In HWRSASE (EI)

LID/SuDS application in De La Salle University:

Swales, Living Walls, and Rainwater Catchment in Velsco Hall

Submitted by:
Chua, Justin
Daliva, Adrian
Dy, Joshua
Edra, Jan Ver
Vicerra, Leandro

Submitted to:
Dr. Renan Tanhueco, Engr.

November 28, 2018

 I. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: LEANDRO & JOSHUA

Urban development is an integral part of any society. Every year, more and more
structures are constructed replacing permeable land or soil into impermeable cement
structures; especially with President Duterte’s ‘build, build, build’ program. The main
premise of this program is to build more infrastructure in the Philippines. There are many
advantages to this program but inevitably, there are also disadvantages. One of the biggest
problem urbanization can bring especially in the Philippine setting, is flooding. Due to
impermeable surfaces built and inadequate or poorly designed sewerage systems, stormwater
runoff in addition, According to water.org, the Philippines now faces a problem in water and
sanitation. Out of a 101 million Filipinos, nine million rely on unimproved, unsafe and
unsustainable water sources and 19 million lack access to improved sanitation.
Given these problems in water quantity and quality, it is a Civil engineer’s duty to try
and resolve these problems. Solutions and technologies related to low impact development
and sustainable drainage systems often come to mind. Low impact development also referred
to as LID are systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes that result in the
infiltration, evapotranspiration or use of stormwater in order to protect water quality and
associated aquatic habitats while sustainable drainage systems or SuDS are drainage systems
that contribute to sustainable development and improve the places and spaces where we live,
work and play by balancing the different opportunities and challenges that influence urban
design and the development of communities.
Examples of LID and SuDS, are swales, living walls, and cisterns used for rainwater
harvesting. Swales are shallow, broad and vegetated channels designed to store and/or convey
runoff and remove pollutants. They may be used as conveyance structures to pass the runoff
to the next stage of the treatment train and can be designed to promote infiltration where soil
and groundwater conditions allow. On the other hand, living walls, or green walls, are
self-sufficient vertical gardens that are attached to a free-standing frame or to the exterior or
interior of a building. Rainwater harvesting is a technique used to conserve water by
decreasing domestic use of water that comes from faucets by storing rainwater in cisterns.
Reusing stormwater is a sustainable technique that can help alleviate the pressing problems of
water quantity (and quality) in the Philippines.
Having mentioned the benefits of these LID and SuDs techniques, the researchers
want to apply these in an area in De La Salle University specifically, in the Urbano J. Velasco
Hall. The researchers aim to study about the feasibility of constructing a rainwater harvesting
system in the roof of Velasco hall which includes a cistern which then can be used to water
the living wall system placed at the facade of Velasco Hall facing St. La Salle Hall and lastly,
a swale to be placed at “Eng Walk” near velasco gate. Water coming into the swale may
come from downspouts that are already located in the area that come from the roof of
Velasco Hall.

II. OBJECTIVES JOSHUA & LEANDRO

General Objectives
To apply concepts of sustainable drainage systems in various locations that the group found
to be the most suitable and beneficial locations throughout De La Salle University. The group
aims to:
(1) Transform particular walls of the Urbano J. Velasco Hall to living walls

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 (2) Install a swale system in between Urbano J. Velasco Hall and the benches in
EngWalk

with the use of a rainwater harvesting system that is to be installed in a particular section of
the outside wall of the Urbano J. Velasco Hall.

Specific Objectives
● To be able to construct a living wall that acts as a rainwater harvesting system by
storing or re-using surface water which leads to decreased runoff water.
● To reduce the risk of floods in the areas surrounding the rainwater harvesting and
swale system
● To reduce polluted water and flows in sewers near the systems
● To promote higher air quality which greatly impacts the health of the people around
the systems
● To slightly lower temperature which provides thermal comfort to the people around
the systems
●

III. LIMITATION/DELIMITATION JUSTIN

The study aims to apply LID and SuDs techniques in Urbano J. Velasco Hall of De La
Salle University. All applications will only manage rainwater that falls inside the area of
Urbano J. Velasco Hall such as the roof, Eng Walk and the walls of the building. Due to the
required time of the study, the study will be time constrained. Data needed for the study such
as the drainage system around the specified area will be limited to what the university can
provide the students.

Data such as, but not limited to the drainage system pictures of the study area are
needed for the study. Due to time constraints, the date for precipitation intensity will not be
collected. Instead it is assumed that the runoff occuring in the specified area is at or more
than the capacity of the runoff management system. Furthermore, the LID and SuDs
techniques will not be built on the site, but will only be simulated through SWMM.

IV. PROCESS

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 Figure 4.1 ​Outline of the proposed LID design in Velasco Hall

Figure 4.2 ​Proposed living wall system for Velasco Hall

Figure 4.3 ​Proposed Swale design for Velasco Hall

The group takes into account considerations for the system to replicate natural
processes in its design. In achieving the goal for the improvement in quality and quantity, the
group aims to let roof runoff go through the treatment train that they propose.

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 The system shall start in the source which is at the roof where cisterns are placed to
collect the runoff. Based from the North Carolina LID Guidebook, a good starting rule for the
design of the cistern is at 1 gallon per square foot, and seeing that this parameter may be
applicable, then this might be followed during construction. Another factor being considered
in the design of the cistern or storage tanks is its place. If it is situated above ground or at the
roof, then it would take up space and its expected load must still be in line with the structural
design of the building. If it is placed underground, then the overall system will be needing a
pump which will increase the energy demand for the operation of the system. With these, the
researchers believe that installing the cisterns above ground will prove to be more efficient in
the long run; however, further planning must take place to ensure that the place where these
cisterns will be placed will not disturb the structural integrity of the building or
inconvenience the students.

After harvesting, the roof runoff will enter the living wall system. The said system
shall be installed as a trellis system where a lightweight panel shall be installed first and the
plants and vegetations are fixed in this panel. Aside from its intended use of circulation for
rainwater, it shall also serve as storage for the latter. The plants in system is assumed to treat
some contaminants from the runoff; Rysulova et al. (2018) has already proven that living
walls have the capacity to treat water, specifically grey water, and this has led to the group to
speculate that the same can treat the same parameters in living walls.

The third step in the treatment train is the swale which shall serve as conveyance of
the whole system towards discharge. For the design considerations of the swale, the first is
the inclusion of turf reinforcement, but since the maximum velocity is assumed to be low
the wastewater underwent the living wall system no more reinforcement is needed.
Vegetative area shall cover the rock surface layer, and a lower elevation at the middle.

V. OUTPUT

The output of this project is to carry out a method or implement a system capable of
regulating water flow and catchment in an efficient way that also confused feasibility. Factors
that affected the system design process include location of installation, size of coverage area,
possible coating and construction effort needed, material used for the system, amount of rain
in localized area of coverage, and water (precipitation) flow velocity. The group projects the
system as very capable of enhancing the work of the building to store said water, in the
process of eventually allocating it to wherever possible, in terms of may it be treated as
storage, water supply, or as part of another system larger in play, with respect to the entirety
of the campus grounds. In turn, DLSU will contribute to allocating water more efficiently and
effectively, in the long run, achieving the long-term goal of campus sustainability and
environmental impact awareness.

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VI. REFERENCES

EPA (N.D.). Urban Runoff: Low Impact Development. United States Environmental

Protection Agency. Retrieved from ​https://www.epa.gov/nps/urban

-runoff-low-impact-development

Heydarian, R. (N.D.). Duterte’s Ambitious ‘Build, Build, Build’ Project To Transform the

Philippines Could Become His Legacy. Forbes. Retrieved from ​https://www.forbes

.com/sites/outofasia/2018/02/28/dutertes-ambitious-build-build-build-project-to-transf

orm-the-philippines-could-become-his-legacy/#4e8c88561a7f

Konrad, C.P. (N.D.). Effects of Urban Development on Floods. U.S. Geological Survey -

Water Resource. Retrieved from ​https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs07603/

Rysulova, M., Kapostaszova, D., & Vranayova, Z. (2018 August 1). Green walls as an

approach in grey water treatment. ​Material Science and Engineering, 245.

doi:10.1088/1757-899X/245/7/072049

Susdrain (N.D.). Sustainable Drainage. Susdrain. Retrieved from ​https://www.susdrain.org/

delivering-suds/using-suds/background/sustainable-drainage.html

Water.org (N.D.). Philippines’ water and sanitation crisis. Retrieved from ​https://water.org/

our-impact/philippines/