Construction and Monitoring of the Stormwater Infiltration on Burnaby Public Roadways and Private Developments

UniverCity is a new community being constructed within a largely forested site adjacent to Simon Fraser University. GMEF 2521 provided funding for road design that would allow runoff to be stored during storms and absorbed by ditches or swales, or collected in catch basins connected to underground storage and infiltration systems. This project comprises the final construction elements and the overall maintenance, monitoring and evaluation of Phase 1 of the stormwater management system. A neighbourhood within UniverCity will act as a field test site to construct, implement and monitor the initial installation of the system. The key new standards are to store and infiltrate rainfall volumes of up to 35 millimetres per day (over 70 percent of the total annual rainfall on Burnaby Mountain) and to reduce the five-year return period storm peak flow to 50 per cent of the existing two-year flow. While this environmental infrastructure project is confined to UniverCity, the management and filtering of stormwater will benefit the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area that surrounds the community. Based on an ongoing evaluation process and an analysis of lessons learned, recommendations will be made for the adapted design in subsequent phases. These innovative stormwater management practices will apply to future phases of UniverCity and in many municipalities across Canada.