Week 6: Design Drivers Flashcards
What are some factors that influence infiltration rate over time?
- Is the soil fully saturated?
- Are there undergound roots?
- Is sediment filling voids?
What are the potential impacts of underestimating the infiltration rate in your design?
Quantity:
- ineffective flooding protection. It won’t hold back as much water as expected. More flows downstream.
Quality:
- less treatment, less contact time
What are the potential impacts of overestimating the infiltration rate in your design?
- Holds water longer. If >24 hrs, too much (24hrs max according to council)
- Flooding occurs at basin
- More volume bypasses untreated (through overflows)
What is the planning and management process?
Regulatory framework
Modelling WQ
Consent Application
Compliance monitoring
What is the Resource Management Act?
- Promotes sustainable management of natural and physical resources (land, air, water)
- Creates framework for resource management by central and local government
Who regulates stormwater in NZ?
Central government
- Resource Management Act
- NPS for freshwater management
- National Environmental Standards
Regional councils
- integrated management of the natural and physical resources of a region
- decisions about discharges of contaminants, water quality and quantity, coastal area, …
- Resource consents
District councils
- decisions about effects of land use, effects of activities on surface of rivers and lakes, …
- infrstructure and community services
- land use consents, building consents
- infrastructure design standards
What are some proposed legislation changes?
Natural and Built Environment Bill
- promote the protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment, while providing for housing and preparing for the effect of climate change
Strategic Planning Bill
- Identify areas that are suitable for development; need to be protected; require infrastructure; vulnerable to climate change effects and hazards
Climate Change Adaptation Bill
- managed retreat or relocation of key assets, activities and sites of cultural significance to Maori and non-Maori, away from vulnerable areas
What is the Water Services Reform Programme?
- 10 Water service entities
- Drinking water, wastewater, stormwater
- New corporations to take over services and infrastructure relating to stormwater quality and quantity, including those held by territorial authorities
What is in a Resource Consent?
- Permission to conduct an activity
- Documentation: Assessment of Environmental Effects
- Cost
- Time
- Uncertainty
What is an engineer’s role in consenting?
- Recognise activities that require consent
- Be familiar with “permitted activity” thresholds
- Provide information to planners for consent applications
What are the aspects you could consider in a stormwater Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE)?
- Site description
- Description of affected environment
- Description of proposed activity
- Legal and planning matters
- Objectives and policies
- Effects on environment
- Consideration of alternatives
- Consultation
- Proposed consent conditions
What could you mention in the Site Description of an AEE?
- Soil conditions
- Site map with key features identified
- Surface cover
- Climate conditions
- Surrounding land use
- Relevant activities undertaken on site
What could you mention in the Description of Proposed Activity in an AEE?
- Processes of stormwater generation and treatment
- Quality of untreated stormwater (monitoring results)
- Expected quality of treated stormwater (modelling)
What could you mention in Consultation of an AEE?
- State any consultation undertaken
- Technical information
What could you mention in Description of Affected Environment in AEE?
- RE for SW: geology, soils, surface water, groundwater, estuary, marine, …
- Immediate RE and downstream RE
- Characteristics and vulnerabilities
- Outcomes of pollutant transformation and removal processes, flow and volume control processes
