h a l f b a k e r y"My only concern is that it wouldn't work, which I see as a problem."
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Assuming that your network of storm drains is above the water table, replace the pipes with spine-and-rib structures where the gaps are filled with a permeable substance. This will soak up as much as possible of the precious freshwater run-off in the hope of giving it back to the water table, instead
of dumping it into the sea.
In dreams, add a prohibitively expensive network of capillary drainlets.
May also mitigate flooding.
[link]
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//better in German//
It sure is:
Schlürfenkrieg |
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Are existing storm drains large enough to
store (as opposed to channel) the
floodwater? |
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"krieg" is sausage-eater for "war" or "conflict", is it not ? |
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Surely "Sturm" is the appropriate word ? |
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I was thinking about the US Midwest which is getting flooded right now. How about a system of hydraulic-moveable foldable spillways that raise up and open wide when an undesired storm hits? |
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One end could be raised up as high as required to make the other end drain out in California. |
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//"Sturm" is the appropriate word//
[8th of 7], that's true. But it just didn't seem schnappy enough. |
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//Are existing storm drains large enough [...]// |
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Well, I was envisaging a hollow centre with the same diameter as the existing drain, so that once the walls and floor were waterlogged the marginal rate of flow of additional storm water would be much the same as before. |
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This is baked, and doesn't work too well either. The rainwater catch basins in the neighborhood I grew up in were piped into giant (maybe 8 foot tall) cast-concrete cylinders buried under the street (I only know this because I saw them dug up and replaced one year). The walls of the cylinders were slotted, and presumably mesh or gravel backfilling was used to keep soil from spilling into them. |
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They worked fine until you had three days of straight rain, at which point the soil saturated and the street flooded. |
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And considering that the "precious freshwater run-off" contained used motor oil, lawn pesticide runoff, and dog poo, I would much rather dump it in the ocean than into my local drinking water aquifier. |
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Servoman, point, but I'm sure you've seen ducks swimming on a reservoir. And possibly dogs swimming in it. |
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//piped into giant (maybe 8 foot tall) cast-concrete cylinders// |
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That wasn't quite what I meant; I envisaged that the drains would still lead to their traditional outfall points (wherever those might be), but that the permeable pipes would soak up as much of the water as possible as it passed; any surplus that they couldn't soak up would still go to the same destination as in a normal storm drain. |
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Sturmschwamm, Flutkrieg, and Überschwemmungabschwächung might also be appropriate, but what do I know? I'm just ein dummer Kanadier. |
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I'm rather regretting that sub-title (I was thinking, perhaps, of 'sturm und drying') as a distraction. Would anyone be willing to say anything about the technical aspects? [marked-for-engineering] |
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[aside] I'm ecstatic to see the [marked-
for-engineering] tag being used. It
makes
me feel like I've made some small
contribution
to the bakery [\aside] |
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I would say that you would get more
effective replenishment of groundwater
if you dug a channel along the bottom
of the storm drain a few feet deep and
fill that with a spongy substance. That
way, after the sponge is filled to
capacity, water flows in the storm drain
as normal, gravity aids the filling of the
sponge, and you're not too likely to get
a sponge more than a quarter the way
up the walls to be very wet anyway. It'd
be easier just to go down where the
water naturally wants to go anyway. |
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Now, on to the problems I see. Soil that
is already nearly saturated from the rain
which fills the sponges will likely not be
too receptive to extra stored water. I
see the water sitting in the sponges for
a long time, probably becoming
stagnant and a breeding ground for
mosquitoes. |
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Do you suppose that living sea-sponge might (a) be adapted to fresh water and (b) eat mosquito larvae? |
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and c) wear square pants... |
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