Planning Frameworks | 67
Stormwater Management
The Study Area’s location adjacent to the
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge Area, along with its position relative
to the Chesapeake Bay watershed provide
the regulatory and philosophical impetus
to use storm water management practices
that not only appropriately manage storm
water to a high level of water quality, but
to use storm water management as a part
of the theme, character and lifestyle of the
community.
The Dominion Boulevard Study Area is
in typically low lying land. It has many
agricultural canals that have been used
to manage storm water from the fields.
One of the canals, the “Herring Ditch” is
of historical significance and transverses
the site in an east west direction before
turning north toward the Elizabeth River.
Another significant ditch follows Shillelagh
Road. The site has many forested areas
that are described on the National Wetlands
Inventory Map as having a high potential for
being wetlands. New developments in the
Study Area have created new canals, ponds
and lagoons that manage post development
storm water. Finally, a significant power line
easement bisects the northern portion of the
Study Area.
All of these site features, along with the
responsibility to provide additional open
space and appropriate storm water Best
Management Practices (BMPs), provide
an opportunity to create a connected open
space system that utilizes naturalizing water
management techniques of various types
and scales that integrate opportunities for
recreation, water management and habit
protection. This integrated system, along
with complete streets and pedestrian
oriented centers, can provide a backbone
framework that contributes to the
community’s health, identity, sense of place
and pedestrian and bicycle mobility system.
Implementation Recommendation:
The stormwater management strategy for
the Study Area follows simple ideas that
together create a naturalized network of,
ideally, low technology water management
techniques that manage storm water close
to where it falls; maximizes infiltration and
reduces water runoff; uses the buildings,
yards, streets, parks and open spaces in a
connected and distributed network of high
connectivity; and reduces the amount of
underground pipes used for distribution
networks in favor of exposed vegetated
systems. The system provides water
management at the lot, the neighborhood
and community scale and offers the
developer of future property in the Study
Area choices in technologies and methods.
In general, storm water management in the
Dominion Boulevard Study Area should
operate at the following scales:
At the Building
The design of the building can contribute
to reducing the amount of water to be
managed by capturing water in above or
below ground cisterns which utilize captured
water for site irrigation or other building
uses.
On the Lot
Rain gardens and infiltration basins can
manage roof water and allow it to infiltrate
into the ground. Reducing the amount of
irrigated landscape and lawn also benefits
an overall water management approach.
A series of lots can provide connected
infiltration basins that provide a naturalized
landscape amenity. Finally, reducing the
amount of impervious surfaces in driveways
and parking lots contributes greatly to
reducing the amount of potential runoff.
Using permeable paving systems also
provide water quality and contribute to
reducing heat island effects.
