Sunday, April 3, 2011

Thesis Question

Here's my first attempt at a thesis question for my research project.  I encourage honest criticism as this will mold my train of thought for the remainder my research. Thanks!

         What combination of sustainable stormwater drainage methods will allow for the least amount of water to reach the city's drainage system and best suit Thompson Rivers University's parking lot S?

4 comments:

  1. That is a great research project! Have you seen that lot lately? I can barely drive my car through it with the dried muck, and pot holes from the winter months. I think "grasscrete" is a great idea although I am wondering how well a snow plow would work on it? Also, with cars parked there for the majority of the day do you think the grass would be able to grow?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Jordan,
    Everything I say is going to speculation and educated guesses at this point. As far as I know, grasscrete is generally used to create emergency lanes while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing site and recharging ground water supply. A lot at TRU is probably too busy to allow for grass to grow so a better choice would probably be permeable concrete pavers for the majority of lot 'S'. Although I won't know for sure until I do more research. Thanks for the input!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great topic Bryan! I know this is a question we put in front of almost all our clients at the time of project conception. “How can we mitigate the impacts this project is going to have on the natural site?”. Usually that means, when dealing with a paved area, or one which is going to have vehicle traffic is, not only capturing the flows, but also treating to manage the TSS (Total suspended solids). As much as we would like capture all storm run-off, often in major events this is just not feasible and thus treatment and overflow measures must be examined. This will definitely be a great area to expand your thesis. Hope I can help further in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Vince,
    I'll add TSS to my list of research items for the summer. You definately just opened my eyes to a whole other train of thought and made me realize how much work I have ahead of me. I'll definately by coming to you for some knowledge and advice over the next 6 months. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete