Level 1 Maintenance Practicum
Maintenance is Needed for Regulatory Compliance & Credit! “ Vegetation will be the main driver for public response , is a main indicator of success or failure of a practice, and the Key to Performance – vegetative coverage is an important indicator of pollutant removal” David Hirschman, Center for Watershed Protection
Inspection, Maintenance, Verification – Requires Teamwork & Cross-Training From Chesapeake Stormwater Network Bioretention Illustrated
Types of Stormwater Practices Maintained by Landscape Crews Conservation Landscapes Infil ra tio n P r a ct ic es 4 1 Rain Gardens Rainwater Harvesting 5 2 3 6 P ermeable Hardscapes t 6 Green Roofs 3 4 5 1 1 4 6 2 3 5 1 2 1 Source: Anne Arundel WSA Rainscaping Manual
Bioretention – Landscape & Conveyance Bioretention Water Quality or Dry Swale Urban Bioretention Residential Rain Garden
Horticultural Restoration Practices • Urban trees/reforestation, • Riparian/coastal buffers (regulated) • Conservation landscaping
Maintenance
Develop a protocol and schedule for timing of maintenance tasks, inspection, reporting, and tracking • Conduct site visit with maintenance staff and train them! • Look over or develop maintenance plan and follow • Look over design/planting plan and follow • Train on proper equipment and methods (less heavy or mechanical equipment, more hand-tools and hand- weeding) • Understand when additional expertise is required and who to report this to.
Typical Landscape Maintenance Tasks During BMP Establishment Phase • Regular watering if it has not rained in two weeks • Spot re-seeding and removal/replacement of dead plants • Remove any sediment accumulation at inlets or the bed Make sure vegetatively Stabilized • Repair erosion on side- slopes • (Landscape contract covers first year after installation) From: Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Vegetation Cover, Condition, Maintenance • Know your native plants versus weeds and how to maintain them • Don’t fertilize • Time maintenance tasks based on growing season and rainfall • Visit site to check between regular scheduled maintenance. • Look for indicators of plant stress due to lack of water. • Check soil moisture, (consult soil specifications and expert before adjusting with soil amendments)
Vegetation Cover, Condition, Maintenance • Plant health and management includes • Healthy plants • Good cover • Few Bare Spots • Reduce the use of mulch and increase vegetative ground coverage – less maintenance • Routinely divide and re-use within existing BMP or other planted areas From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Dynamic Vegetation Management Vegetation management is the key maintenance task. Year 1 Year 3 Original design plan should specify desired plant community through time Year 10
Typical Landscape Maintenance Tasks During BMP Establishment Phase • Perform any minor or moderate maintenance tasks, as triggered by any visual indicator • Report to higher authority to “correct any severe maintenance problems in response to a forensic BMP investigation.” From: Section 5.1 Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Diagram From: Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Contributing Drainage Areas, Inlet and Pretreatment Areas • Is the contributing drainage area in good condition? • Inlet obstruction – easy landscape fix • Erosion at inlet – easy landscape fix • Pretreatment area – sediment, trash accumulation – easy landscape fix • Inlet – structural failure – call expert From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Make Sure Water Gets in Inlets!
Erosion and Sink Holes • Inlet • Side slope – light erosion – landscape fixes • Stabilize with spot re-seeding or vegetation • Severe slope erosion – call an expert • Subsidence or sink holes in bed – call an expert • Minor erosion in bed zone – landscape fix – rake and cover From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Check for Level Filter Bed Unlevel filter bed concentrates Level filter bed -just like a water in only one area ; uneven bathtub - even distribution of filtering flow across surface
Water Flow and Ponding/Infiltration • Constant ponding in certain areas? Call an expert • Pond area wet longer than 48 hours? Call an expert • Flow into and out obstructed or diverted? • Diverted by mulch – easy landscape fix • Diverted by structural feature or slope – call expert From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Mulch or Sediment Deposition in Bed Zone • Caking or hardened sediment – easy landscape fix by raking caked sediment – when to call an expert • Mulch displaced or thin – replace or add native ground cover (vegetation/consult designer/planting plan for plant specs?) • Mulch too thick – blocks inlet, redirects water or covers critical infiltration features From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Standing water? Cause? Filter fabric, bad soil media, compaction, sediment film on top, clogged underdrain?
Plumbing - underdrains • Is plumbing working? • Keep free of debris and sediment • Check for broken or missing caps From: Visual Indicator Profiles from Bioretention Illustrated Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Typical Landscape Maintenance Mistakes • Control Weeds and Invasive plants – • Stay on top of this and use sustainable control methods – see manual • Don’t weedwack or mow planted areas unless specified in maintenance plans
Health of Vegetation: “Live & Learn” • Plants that do well or poorly in various applications • Unforeseen or unexpected conditions in the BMP (e.g., too wet, too sunny, etc.) • How different plant palettes/communities do over time
Health of Vegetation: “Controllable” • Dirty Drainage Area • Wrong Plants • Inlets Clogged or Obstructed • Uneven Ponding • Bio-Desert • Previous Maintenance Practices (e.g., Mulch) • Previous “Non - Maintenance” Practices For Each: Identify Why It May Impact Health of Vegetation
Dirty Drainage Area
Cultivars or Inappropriate Plants Specified in Plan or As Substitutions During Construction
Water Diverted Around Inlets: Water Can’t Get In! Notice Sediment?
Water Only Ponds At One End
Sediment Crust or Caking
Clogged Due To: • Bad Soil Media • Filter Fabric Below Soil Media • Clogged Underdrain • No Underdrain • Sediment “Crust” on Surface • Compaction During Construction • Other?
Is Filter Fabric A Good Idea?
Bio-Desert: Media Too Sandy or Inflow is Too Little, Too Late
Previous Maintenance Practices If a little is good, more is not necessarily better!
Enthusiasm For Mulch
Previous “Non - Maintenance” Practices
Additional Landscape Maintenance Mistakes on Conservation Landscapes or Buffers • Understory plants and trees are cleared to improve views of waterways or landscaped with non-native plants causing disturbances to riparian and shoreline buffers. • Urban Tree Preservation Policies!
Other? Your Ideas
Vegetated Practices: bioretention, rain gardens, bioswales, filter strips, living wall, buffers/shoreline, constructed wetlands, infiltration w/ vegetation Component: Check For: Observations: Drainage Area Erosion Sediment/Grit/Dirt Stockpiles: Bare soil Chemicals, oil, etc.: Other: Inlets to Practices: Obstruction Pipes Erosion Curb cuts Structural/safety issues Sheetflow Other Other: Pre-Treatment: Full of sediment; needs clean- Forebay out Grass filter strip Erosion Grass channel Holding water Stone pad Flow by-passes pre-treatment Other: Other None BMP Surface Area: Appears undersized Vegetation Ponding depth too shallow Mulch Ponding depth too deep Other: Not level; ponding not even across surface Sink holes Sediment caked on surface Standing water Trash Erosion Soil Media: Too much clay or wrong soil Bioretention or Rain type; not permeable enough Garden mix Too shallow Sand Other: Other: Side Slopes Erosion Unstable Other: Vegetation: % surface area covered with Trees vegetation: Shrubs Many bare spots Herbaceous Dead/diseased/unhealthy plants Other: Overgrown Invasives Too much mulch Other: Outlets: Obstruction/clogging Underdrain(s) By-passing Overflow structure @ Erosion ponding depth Structural problem Other Other: Other
Permeable Pavement The ACTION is Below Ground! • Details vary – check on approved plan
Typical Maintenance for Permeable Pavement From: Watershed Stewards Academy, Rainscaping Manual
Permeable Pavement Maintenance Vacuum Truck, max power 2500 rpm Preventative Restorative Source: Tim Van Seters, Toronto and Region Conservation District
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