Green Infrastructure Detention Project
Located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Uptown Worthington is a one-of-a-kind development transforming the site of a former Worthington Steel factory into a national model for the principles of new urbanism.
Considerations for underground infrastructure followed suit with the trendy development in staying ahead of the curve with how stormwater is managed, and in some cases, how storm water can be reused.
An innovative example of how both of these functions can be combined to meet the needs of a development is found with the inclusion of a combination irrigation/detention system.
In essence, an underground large diameter pipe network, manufactured and provided by Lane Enterprises, Inc., a member of the NCSPA, was constructed to hold water indefinitely in one respect, and detain water in another.
A +100,000 cubic feet stormwater storage pipe system in which the bottom half was designed to hold water indefinitely for irrigation purposes, leaving the remaining storage capacity to satisfy detention requirements for the contributing area.
The combination irrigation/detention system consists of 1,584 feet of fully perforated, 96-in diameter, aluminized corrugated steel pipe (CSP), a thermoplastic pond liner, and a pump station.
The CSP storage system is comprised of two 107-ft long manifolds with ten stubs each side for laterals approximately 137-ft long, and contains a special CSP structure fabricated with accommodations for process piping to facilitate a de-watering operation.
In effect, the excavation to accommodate the 107′ x 153′ rectangular pipe system is lined with an impermeable membrane so that water is stored and reserved in the pipe and stone backfill in the bottom half of the system, and a gravity outlet was provided to allow water to only be detained on the upper half of the system.
The pipe being fully perforated allows stored water to flow into and out of the stone backfill as needed.
The versatility of corrugated steel pipe for such applications is literally unmatched. The larger diameters realized in this pipe material (up to 12-ft) use far less real estate than the other underground storage products emerging today.
Coupled with the perforation capabilities and the fabrication potentials for a variety of special fittings (weirs, orifices, stubs, et al), corrugated steelpipe is uniquely poised to meet the more unusual storage needs that are quickly becoming commonplace in the stormwater storage market.
Up-to-date industry-sponsored research assigns a 100-year service life for Aluminized Type 2 structures in these types of applications.
The combination system essentially idealizes the growing concept lying behind the term “Green Infrastructure.”
In a world where there’s a growing need to accommodate storm water runoff, maintain usable real estate, and be able to economically preserve a natural resource, Uptown Worthington meets the challenge both below and above grade.