Hydraulics and Lawns

[BUGGAR]

I just did a runoff study for a large neighborhood watershed here in San Diego. I used the County recommended runoff coefficients. I drove through the neighborhood to make sure I didn't miss anything relevant and noticed almost everyone is replacing their lawns because of the drought. Good! But they're generally replacing lawn with decorative rock over a sheet of impervious plastic. In my case, I get a 5 percent increase in the runoff if I consider the additional area as impervious.

Anybody else dealing with this?

 

[beej67]

Don't sweat it. It doesn't rain in California anyway, right?

_{(I kid)}

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[Twinkie]

My claim to fame is I have been present in San Diego both times it has rained in the past 20 years.

 

[BUGGAR]

The day I chose to visit the site had the wettest rain for July in the history of San Diego. Calculations said I was standing next to 18 cfs coursing along the gutter. Time of concentration under 5 minutes. The street was pretty much a river. I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid! And I get paid for this!
ps. I'm doing this because of construction that diverted this flow from one drainage basin to another. Big downstream consequences. I'll send a note to the County about updating their drainage manual. Lets all sing, "It Never Rains in Southern California".