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RiverSmart Washington (RSW) is a long-term demonstration project of DOEE in partnership with Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Water, and a contractor, LimnoTech. The goal of the project was to intensely apply distributed microscale green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) practices across a pair of developed urban sewersheds, to understand the cumulative ability to capture and treat stormwater, through monitoring and modeling.
Two similar-sized neighborhood-scale sewersheds were selected as experimental sewersheds: one near MacFarland Middle School, and another near Lafayette Recreation Center. A third sewershed was utilized as a control for the experiment where no GSI was installed. This project involved the design and construction of various GSI practices within the roadside right of way, including biorentention (raingardens) and various types of permeable and porous surfaces (permeable pavers, permeable pavement panels, porous concrete and porous asphalt). Additionally, the project installed GSI practices on private properties that volunteered to participate, including tree planting, rain barrels, rain gardens, and permeable pavers. MacFarland Middle School was also retrofitted with GSI.
Initial planning and design of the project occurred from 2010-2012, with construction concluding in 2016. There were periods of pre- and post-construction monitoring that extended into 2017. In 2019, a second phase of monitoring was performed before and after maintenance/deep cleaning/rehabilitation was conducted. Monitoring efforts included end-of-the-pipe flow monitoring of the sewersheds, as well as practice-level monitoring of individual GSI locations with meters and moisture sensors in a sampling of various types of practices.
The District has learned many lessons through this effort, some of which have already been incorporated into new GSI installations and how existing and future GSI is maintained. The District is now developing a unified model where one agency, DOEE, is charged with the maintenance of the District’s GSI.
Contact:
For questions or more information, please contact:
James Woodworth: [email protected] | 202-535-2244
