Welcome
Hello everyone
and welcome to July edition of “Keep Things Flowing”, the monthly
newsletter presented by Storm Water Consulting.
In this month’s
newsletter we review a new proprietary stormwater quality treatment
device and we look at the implication of disregarding overland flow
paths.
SPELFilter
Earlier this
month we met with a representative from SPEL. SPEL specialise in
the treatment of water and waste-water quality. It is only recently
that proprietary stormwater quality treatment devices other than
Stormwater 360’s StormFilter have been accepted for use in major
Council’s within South East Queensland. The increased number of
competitors into the market results in more versatile and
cost-effective proprietary treatment systems. SPEL has developed a
new proprietary device which has successfully been approved for use
in a number of major Councils. The new device is called the
SPELFilter and is pictured below.
The
SPELFilter has an upflow treatment process, through a spiral
wrapped media configuration that maximises surface area. The
benefit is excellent pollutant removal in a small footprint.
Hydraulic pressure forces water through the filter media,
discharges through the centre tube and out through the outlet
collection manifold. Upon completion of a treatment cycle, each
cartridge backwashes and effectively dislodges particulates from
the filtration layers. This re-establishes filter porosity. The
dislodged particles accumulate on the vault floor for easy removal
during maintenance.
The
SPELFilter system can be deployed in a variety of structures
including manholes, precast vaults, or cast-in-place structures.
The
SPELFilter System has now been approved for use in:
·
Brisbane
City Council;
·
Redlands
City Council;
·
Ipswich
City Council;
·
Blacktown
City Council;
The
SPELFilter does require pre-treatment by a GPT (known as a SPEL
STORMSACK) to achieve the best pollutant removal rates. If you
would like any further information on the SPELFilter or STORMSACK,
or have any water quality treatment questions or projects please
contact our office and we would be happy to provide you with
assistance.
Overland Flow
Paths
As hydraulic
engineers we often see people disregard the importance of overland
flow paths. In many cases people have never seen water flowing
through the location of the supposed overland flow path and
consequently want to use the vacant space. So what are the
consequences and implications if someone decides to build in an
overland flow path without proper advice from a hydraulic engineer
and Council approval?
Example
The owners
of the property (shown in the image below) want to build in
underneath their house. The house is currently raised and overland
flow passes underneath as shown by the blue hatching.
If the
owners failed to implement advice from a certified hydraulic
engineer and failed to gain approval from the relevant authority
and built in underneath, the following consequences may occur;
·
The
overland flow path would be partially blocked. The development
would likely increase flood levels in the overland flow path and
increase the depth and extent of flooding on neighbouring
properties. This could cause damage to the neighbouring
properties/dwellings.
·
The
frequency of flooding occurring on the neighbouring properties
would likely be increased, potentially reducing the land value of
the neighbouring properties.
The above
two consequences could lead to civil litigation actions by the
neighbours against the owners.
·
The
built in area has been constructed without the consent of the
governing authority. The built in area may be required to be
removed as development approval has not been obtained.
·
The
built in area is not officially recognised as part of the dwelling
(as no approval has been obtained) and therefore these areas cannot
be advertised as part of the dwelling if selling the property.
·
As
the built in area has not been approved, the whole property may be
refused insurance due to the unapproved addition to the dwelling.
The above
three consequences could lead to serious financial implications for
the owners.
·
The
built in area may not meet design requirements for the overland
flow impacting the dwelling, leading to potential structural
failure of the whole dwelling.
·
The
built in area may not meet minimum flood immunity requirements,
leading to increased potential for inundation into the built in
area.
The above
two issues show the potential impact of the overland flow on the
dwelling itself.
As
highlighted above, the consequences for disregarding overland flow
areas can have serious implications. If you have any concerns about
overland flow through your property or overland flow is impacting
your development please feel free to contact our office and we
would be pleased to assist you.
Wrap Up
That brings
us to the end of another edition of “Keep Things Flowing”. If you
have any questions about information presented in this month’s
edition please feel free to contact our office.
As always,
Keep Things Flowing!
The Storm
Team
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