Prioritizing Stormwater Management: Comparing Integrated Best Management Practices in Urban and Suburban Neighborhoods

This thesis demonstrates a comparison of two design proposals that integrate Best Management Practices to address stormwater runoff volumes in urban and suburban neighborhoods. The thesis investigation includes the selection and comparison of two diverse neighborhoods to inform design decisions. It then assesses the environmental, social and economic implications of the design proposal in each neighborhood.

The site selection process is a method that overlays specific criterion such as residential land use, topographic features, and median household income (3) nested scales; the watershed scale, the sub-watershed scale, and the neighborhood scale. For the purposes of this paper, nested scales are defined as a study area that lies within a greater study area that was previously defined. The nested scales are used to identify two neighborhoods that reflect greater watershed and sub-watershed characteristics.

The first neighborhood selected is located in the suburban, Sinking Creek Watershed. This neighborhood reflects the high income and low density development characteristics of the greater watershed. The second neighborhood is located at Knoxville’s urban core in the Second Creek Watershed. Conversely, this neighborhood is reflective of the low income, high density development characteristics that are dominantly found in the greater Second Creek watershed. Both Knox County watersheds are associated with impaired water bodies due to stormwater runoff.

Neighborhood and stormwater inventories document conditions of the Sinking Creek and Second Creek neighborhood study areas that were identified by the nested scales process. The inventories and subsequent analyses help to identify issues within each community and inform stormwater goals. Each design proposal responds to the perceived needs of the neighborhood while managing stormwater volumes projected in a Hydro CAD model for a 1.29 inch, Type II 24 hour rain event. These proposals include a master plan of integrated Best Management Practices (BMP’s), typical street sections showing the application of BMP’s proposed within the public right-of-ways, and examples of individually selected BMP’s assigned to these street applications to meet the volumetric demands of the modeled rain event.

After each design proposal has been established, a comprehensive analysis assesses and compares the social, environmental, and economic values of the design proposals.