Bioswale

[2]: 19  Bioswale design is intended to safely maximize the time water spends in the swale, which aids the collection and removal of pollutants, silt and debris.

A bioswale's make-up can be influenced by many different variables, including climate, rainfall patterns, site size, budget, and vegetation suitability.

Bioswales, or other types of biofilters, can be created around the edges of parking lots to capture and treat stormwater runoff before releasing it to the watershed or storm sewer.

[3] As the storm water runoff flows through the bioswale, the pollutants are captured and settled by the leaves and stems of the plants.

[10] Bioswales are useful low-impact development work to decrease the velocity of stormwater runoff while removing pollutants from the discharge.

They are extremely beneficial in protecting surface water and local waterways from excessive pollution from stormwater runoff.

An accumulation of large sediments, trash, and improper growth of vegetation can all affect the quality and performance of bioswales.

It is beneficial at the planning stages to set apart easements to allow for easier maintenance of biowales, whether it be adequate space to locate machinery or safety to those working.

Visual inspection, capacity testing, synthetic runoff, and monitoring are the four steps that can be used to evaluate performance and maintenance of bioswales.

Full restoration is required when the bioswales no longer filter pollutants adequately and overall performance is severely lacking.

[12] Bioswales experience short, potentially intense, periods of rain, flooding and pollutant loading followed by dry seasons.

The overfill drain should be located at least 6 inches above the ground plane to allow for maximum concentration time of stormwater runoff in the bioswales.

Intermittent check dams were installed to further abet silt capture, which reduced by 50% suspended solids entering the river system.

[15] A second example of a large scale designed bioswale is at the Carneros Business Park, Sonoma County, California.

SEA provided a strong benefit for stormwater runoff mitigation that helped continue to protect Seattle's creek ecology.

[17] The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) has built more than 11,000 curbside bioswales, which are referred to as 'rain gardens'.

[19] The care and tending of rain gardens is a partnership between the NYC DEP and a group of citizen volunteers called "harbor protectors".