Landscape & Hardscape Design-Build

Landscape & Hardscape Design-Build - Jan 2012

ELMER AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD RETROFIT PROJECT Goals Reduce street flooding and polluted runoff to rivers and the ocean Show how rainwater could naturally be added to the areas local aquifer which in turn would increase the long term water supply Promote community awareness of water conservation and watershed connections Enhance the community through increased green spaces and improved infrastructure Promote sustainable and low impact design Highlights 23 new native street trees were installed by residents and volunteers 13 rain barrels each with a 55 gallon capacity 6000 feet of drip irrigation 1560 square feet of permeable pavers 51 percent of the landscaping plants from a native plant palette For more information visit www watershedhealth org VIRGINIA The Power of Product and Support Not all products are available in all locations CALIFORNIA COLORADO DELAWARE KANSAS MARYLAND MISSOURI PENNSYLVANIA Insert 119 on page 21 We gave them a choice of landscape types vegetation paving types of trees the option to have composting units drip irrigation he says I had to prepare sitespecific custom designs in both English and Spanish and get them to sign off on it Designing a sustainable landscape means knowing a site inside and out You need to know the soil type of vegetation kinds of people you need to know that site culturally environmentally and economically he says A lot of effort goes into the project before you put pen to paper The second phase of the project a walkway or paseo will capture more water flow The plan is to install permeable surfaces and native plants to create a passive recreation space with park benches Theres still a lot of work to do notes Antos and a lot more potential to capture water for the city to use So far the water captured from the neighborhood for reuse in the city aquifers is more than Elmer Avenue residents would use in a year Continued on page 18 These individual homes were separate from the design of the streetscape yet needed to look seamless he says The private and public were to work as a unified element Stivers says I think we achieved that and then some Controlling stormwater While it was critical to retrofit individual homeowners plots to become more sustainable and better able to conserve water the major water conservation happened underneath the street surface with the installation of large infiltration galleries These underground units capture runoff and can infiltrate 6575 gallons of water every five minutes for groundwater recharge In addition two catch basins one on each end of the 400 foot block divert water from the streets to the infiltration galleries these catch basins reduce pollutants entering the galleries by filtering out sediments and any trash Bioswales run the entire length of the street to provide additional infiltration JANUARY 2012 I Landscape Hardscape Design Build 17