Quantifying volume reduction and peak flow mitigation for three bioretention cells in clay soils in northeast Ohio

Green infrastructure aims to restore watershed hydrologic function by more closely mimicking pre-development groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration (ET). Bioretention has become a popular stormwater control due to its ability to reduce runoff volume through these pathways. Three bioretention cells constructed in low permeability soils in northeast Ohio were monitored for non-winter quantification of inflow, drainage, ET, and exfiltration. The inclusion of an internal water storage (IWS) zone allowed the three cells to reduce runoff by 59%, 42%, and 36% over the monitoring period, in spite of the tight underlying soils. The exfiltration rate and the IWS zone thickness were the primary determinants of volume reduction performance. Post-construction measured drawdown rates were higher than pre-construction soil vertical hydraulic conductivity tests in all cases, due to lateral exfiltration from the IWS zones and ET, which are not typically accounted for in pre-construction soil testing. The minimum rainfall depths required to produce outflow for the three cells were 5.5, 7.4, and 13.8mm. During events with 1-year design rainfall intensities, peak flow reduction varied from 24 to 96%, with the best mitigation during events where peak rainfall rate occurred before the centroid of the rainfall volume, when adequate bowl storage was available to limit overflow.