10 Superior Green Roof Storm Water Control Designs soon to be tested
Posted on Tuesday 23 May, 2017
The Purple-Roof® “enhanced by Urbanscape®” concept, a joint effort between Sedum grower Sempergreen from Virginia, in the USA, and binder-free mineral wool growing media supplier Knauf Insulation from Slovenia, EU (part of the German Knauf Group) is taking on a whole new dimension.
Optimum combination of storm water management and green aesthetics
“Over the course of testing in past years we have found out so many new things. We now know how to modify the green roof design to optimize rain water control on the roof and to supply civil engineers with better information to do their work. We know exactly how to apply different growing media strategies to produce the best results. First, we see how to maximize storm water control, and when this is functioning satisfactorily we also compare how the plants grow according to the new designs. We have had more than 30 green roof designs set up on the premises since 2012, and we can see what works best in terms of appearance. Our goal is to provide the optimum combination of storm water management and green aesthetics,” says Oscar Warmerdam, President of Sempergeen USA.
Provide a concept that all major green roofers can use
“We have been doing intensive storm water testing back in Europe for the past four years in order to better understand our unique Urbanscape® mineral wool growing media as part of the Urbanscape® Green Roof System. In North America, we are taking it a step further. We want to design a concept that is easy to apply across the wider green roof industry. We do not want to sell our own system on the market, but want instead to provide a concept that all of the major green roofers can use as their own – or as an addition to an already existing portfolio,” says Jure Šumi, director of global business development for Urbanscape® Green Solutions.
New additions to Storm Water Lab
The storm water lab, which was designed by Sempergreen USA in 2016 with support from Knauf Insulation, American Hydrotech, Firestone and Greenrise, has already been further upgraded now, in 2017. Many new additions have been made in order to simulate and repeat, with great precision, extreme storms that can last up to six hours.
Simulation of four rainfall distribution zones
There are currently four rainfall distribution zones in the USA, each with their own typical extreme rain events than can be now simulated in the storm water lab. The Purple-Roof “Enhanced by Urbanscape®” concept will be tested according to all four scenarios in order to gain accurate data on specific rainwater detention and retention characteristics during specific super storms typical for each of the four zones.
It might appear that this is a very general approach, but each region has a certain storm type, and within the storm type there are local intensity and volume values that apply – as we know that average rainfall differs from city to city, this is a common approach for civil engineers when planning storm water management measures.
The ultimate goal will be to custom design green roofs for every major city, taking into consideration:
Maximum storm water retention and detention during a typical storm in order to prevent floods and pollution. Maximum annual storm water retention, in order to minimize the burden on sewage treatment facilities.
Read more about the Purple-Roof Concept
Are you based in Europe? Visit the website detentionroof.com for green roof storm water solutions in your country.