I-Corps: Storm Water Redistribution Device

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力，是让业主在充分发展土地以获得经济效益的同时，满足规管要求，同时保护我们赖以供水、环境效益和康乐的水资源。目前，土地所有者使用可开发的土地来管理雨水。该项目将考虑如何最好地利用整个场地的土壤来管理雨水，并腾出更多的场地用于开发。当我们建造建筑物、道路和停车场时，径流自然会集中，通过分散径流，更多的水可以渗入地下。通过这种渗透，陆地表面的污染物可以被土壤去除，而不是直接流入溪流。渗入的水从地下流向溪流，为野生动物提供了源源不断的水源。将径流分配到建筑物和路面周围的土壤中，也有助于将径流排除在许多老社区的风暴和卫生下水道之外，使老化的基础设施继续发挥作用，并减少综合下水道的溢出。I-Corps项目将产生一种新的解决方案，改变雨水径流的管理方式；改善水质，维持野生动物所需的溪流基流，同时降低成本，减少满足许可要求所需的空间。该解决方案由一些专门设计的装置组成，这些装置可以减缓水流的速度，并使水流重新定向，从而使水流渗入周围的土壤。核心技术是基于一个公认的原则，即材料的大小、混合和排列方式决定了液体的流动方式。该解决方案的专利已经发布，因为新的，创新的方式来构建和部署这些简单的材料（即，沙子和砾石放置在土工织物的管道中，经常用于景观美化），允许水在三维方向。集中的径流，例如从停车场流出的加速水流，被设备拦截，首先减慢速度，然后引导到土壤中，或者向左或向右移动到下一个设备部分。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is in allowing property owners to fully develop their land for economic benefit, while satisfying regulatory requirements and, at the same time, protecting the water resources that we rely on for water supply, environmental benefits and recreation. Currently, land owners use developable land to manage storm water. This project will consider how to best use the soil throughout the site to manage the storm water and free up more of the site for development. By spreading out runoff that naturally concentrates when we construct buildings, roads and parking lots more water can soak into the ground. With this infiltration, pollutants picked up on the land surface can be removed by the soil rather than flowing directly to a stream. Infiltrated water moves underground to streams and provides the continuous stream flow needed by wildlife. Distributing runoff to the soil surrounding our buildings and pavement can also help keep runoff out of the combined storm and sanitary sewers found in many older communities, allowing the aging infrastructure to continue to function and reducing the combined sewer overflows.This I-Corps project will result in a new solution, transforming the way storm water runoff is managed; improving water quality and maintaining stream baseflow required by wildlife, while decreasing costs and requiring less space to meet permitting requirements. The solution consists of devices that are specially constructed to slow down the flow of water and redirect it in a way that allows it to seep into the surrounding soil. The core technology is based upon the well-established principle that the size, mix and way materials are arranged determines the way liquids flow. A patent for the solution has been issued because of the new, innovative way of constructing and deploying these simple materials (i.e., sand and gravel placed in tubes of the geotextile fabric often used in landscaping), allowing water to be directed in three dimensions. Concentrated runoff, for example the accelerated flow of water off a parking lot, that is intercepted by the device, is first slowed and then directed down into the soil or is moved left or right to the next device segment.