As more of the nation becomes urbanized there is an increased need for underground stormwater chamber systems. These systems are designed to prevent flooding in urban areas. There are many different ways to factor these into a new neighborhood.
Often the groundwater is diverted to a cistern or holding type tank where it can eventually evaporate or be slowly drained off without causing standing water or flooding in the urban locations. The easiest way to do this is to set it all up as the neighborhood is being designed and built.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way and sometimes older neighborhoods must have some work done that means they will need to address potential flooding or standing water at some point in the future. In such cases, there are other types of stormwater chamber systems that will have to be designed.
Flooding is caused when the ground can’t absorb the water quickly enough due to rains or a river or oceans jumping their banks. Different types of soil have different capacities for absorbing or disposing of excess water and soils that can’t absorb any more water will begin to flood.
From “French” drains to stormwater ditches to other means these underground chamber systems are all designed to help drain water off of the neighborhood and minimize flooding and water damages. Such underground chamber systems can be made up of concrete, steel, plastic, and naturally occurring elements such as the ground underneath of their feet.
The water is then diverted to the chamber system where it will do one of three things. It may simply sit and evaporate slowly over the course of time, or it may be diverted into another area, or it may slowly drain off into a drain field, nearby reservoir or another body of water.
The exact method will be determined by the availability of materials and just exactly how urbanized the area in question has become. Not all systems are the right type of system for some areas. Many are cleverly designed using all natural elements and reservoirs etc. that are made up of the very ground that the urban areas are built upon.
Other won’t be as easy and must be carefully designed. It’s not unusual for some areas to have more than one underground stormwater system in place. This may be due to the exact type of terrain or the fact that the area may be more prone to flooding.
Stormwater systems aren’t a new concept. they’ve been around for centuries. Areas that are built at or below sea level often have flooding issues. Areas that receive heavy rains are also frequently prone to flooding. As the water comes down the ground can’t absorb and drain it off quick enough so the areas flood.
By diverting the flood waters to an underground stormwater chamber system the flooding is avoided. If, however, the water isn’t able to drain quickly enough there may still be a small amount of flooding. Choosing the best stormwater system for areas needs is the best way to prevent flooding.