News Release
March 6, 2007
The Butler County Storm Water District is currently designing a bioretention facility to be installed on the Butler County Engineer’s Office property located at 1921 Fairgrove Avenue in Hamilton, Ohio. The design of the bioretention area will allow for the collection and treatment of storm water runoff from existing paved areas. A sampling station will be set up to collect runoff as it enters the BMP and a second sampling station will be installed to collect effluent from the bioretention underdrain system. Data will be collected during each rain event over the next few years to track the performance of the unit. In addition to providing pollutant removal, the bioretention facility will add aesthetic appeal to a currently bare area. The bioretention facility is the first of several best management practices which will be installed and monitored at this site. Installation of the bioretention facility is expected to occur in April 2007.
According to the Rainwater and Land Development Manual created by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, “bioretention practices are stormwater basins that utilize a soil media, mulch, and vegetation to treat runoff and improve water quality for small drainage areas. Bioretention practices provide effective treatment for many runoff quality problems including reduction of total suspended solids, heavy metals, organic compounds, bacteria, and nutrients (phosphorous and nitrogen) by promoting settling, adsorption, microbial breakdown, and nutrient assimilation by plants.”
“A bioretention area consists of a depression that allows shallow ponding of runoff and gradual percolation through a soil media, after which it either infiltrates through undisturbed soils or enters the storm sewer system through an underdrain system. Bioretention practices are sized for common storm events (the water quality volume) whereas runoff volumes from larger events are typically designed to bypass these practices.”
