Drainage Design Manual

Section 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 2 : STORM WATER SYSTEM DESIGN................................................................2.1
2.1 Steps in Planning of Storm Water Management Studies...............................................2.1
2.1.1
General............................................................................................................ 2.1
2.1.2
Preparing Concept Plans.................................................................................2.1
2.1.3
System Planning and Design...........................................................................2.3
2.1.4
Review of System Plan and Design.................................................................2.4
2.1.5
Re-Evaluation.................................................................................................. 2.4
2.1.6
Final Design Detailing......................................................................................2.5
2.1.7
Implementation................................................................................................ 2.5
2.1.8
Plan Components............................................................................................2.6

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Drainage Design Manual

Section 2

SECTION 2
STORM WATER SYSTEM DESIGN
2.1

Steps in Planning of Storm Water Management Studies

2.1.1

General

A storm water management plan is prepared to consider what storm water

management practices and measures are to be provided for large public works project,
an urban estate and other developments. These plans will have a local focus
responsive to specific functions (drainage provision, open space provision, etc.). They
prescribe individual area management techniques and practices. If a storm water
strategy plan is available for a catchment, each local area storm water management
plan will be required to accommodate the principles and directions identified in the
broader strategic plan.
Ideally, a storm water management plan should be prepared for a local area prior to
implementing structural and non-structural management measures identified in the
strategy plan for the catchment. That is, detailed planning should precede the design,
construction, and operation phases of a development project.

2.1.2

Preparing Concept Plans

The following tasks should be carried out for the preparation of a storm water
management plan.
Step 1: Establishing Objectives and Standards - Objectives and standards should
be established to guide the planning process. These may be obtained from
the strategy plan for the catchment (if available). The objectives and
standards should provide the basis for and give direction to the planning
process and should be used to determine the expected outputs of the
recommended plan.
Step 2: Data Collection - Data collected for the planning process provides the factual
basis for the plan and allows an appreciation of past and an understanding of
present conditions within the catchment. The extent of data collection would
be the reflection of the objective/s and standard/s set. The data collected for
the development of the strategy plan for the catchment should be used if
available. This data may need to be supplemented with additional data
necessary to further define the characteristics of the area under investigation.
2.1: Base Map - The base map should identify the watershed areas and sub
areas, land use and cover types, soil types, existing drainage patterns,
and other topographic features. This base information is then
supplemented with underground utility locations (and elevations if
available), a preliminary roadway plan and profile, and locations of
existing and proposed structures.
2.2: Hydro meteorological Data - Hydro meteorological data gives
information mainly on the rainfall, and for gauged areas, the runoff.
Step 3: Analysing Existing Conditions - The main purposes of this phase is to use
the data and information collected under the data collection phase to
understand the present state of storm water management related conditions
in the catchment.
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The water quantity and/or quality characteristics for the existing catchment
conditions must be determined.
For existing developments, models are required to:
determine the capacity of existing major and minor conveyance systems;
determine the location and extent of any flooding under major and minor
system;
determine the pollutant loads for existing land uses within the catchment;
and,
determine the performance of any existing water quality control structures.
For proposed developments, models are required to:
determine natural flows within the catchment which may be used as flow
limits for development proposals; and,
determine natural pollutant loadings within the catchment which may be
used as pollutant load limits for development proposals.
Step 4: Formulating Alternatives - Formulation of alternatives is the most important
part of the storm water management planning process because the substance
of the recommended plan originates from this step. Formulation of
alternatives is creative and systematic effort where alternatives are
conceptualised, screened, and if promising, further developed and
consolidated. The essential conceptual, technical, economic, environmental,
financial, legal, administrative, political, and other features of each alternative
should be examined before finalization. In formulating alternative proposals,
the water quantity and quality characteristics must be determined.
Step 5: Comparing Alternatives and Selecting the most Viable One/s - Having
formulated a set of possible alternative solutions for managing storm water,
the alternatives should be compared. The essential features of each
alternative such as size, costs, benefits, and positive and negative attributes
should be compared in summary form for presentation to decision-makers
and the community when required. Alternatives should be compared on the
basis of how well they achieve the established objectives.
As the positive and negative features of each alternative are considered and
compared with features of other alternatives, the possibility of hybrid
alternatives may arise. Hybrid alternatives might achieve a technically
improved solution or might be a means of obtaining support among decisionmakers.
Step 6: Preliminary Concept Development - Layout and design of a storm drainage
system begins with the development of sketches identifying the basic
components of the intended design. This section provides an overview of the
concepts involved in the development of a preliminary concept plan.
Concept plan is usually done on a base map that shows the roadway,
location of bridge points; land use and land cover conditions of the catchment.
Other utility locations and situations should also be identified and shown,
including surface and underground ones and any other storm drain systems.
Storm drain alignment within the road right-of-way is usually influenced, if not
dictated, by the location of other utilities. These other utilities, which may be
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public or private, may cause interference with the alignment or elevation of

the proposed storm drain.
Generally, a storm drain should be kept as close to the surface as minimum to
minimize excavation costs. Another location control is the demand of traffic
and the need to provide for traffic flow during construction including the
possible use of detours.

2.1.3

System Planning and Design

For this chosen mode of study through the aforementioned steps, system planning and
design is the next phase to go into. Planning and design of an integrated urban storm
water management development requires data base on the following area:

boundary and natural drainage directions of a catchment and sub catchments;

runoff outlet or "disposal" points;

locations where flows, flood levels, and water quality are to be assessed; and,

the layout (network) of surface channels which convey runoff.

System planning and design is to follow the following procedure.

i. Catchment

definition and descritization:- Catchment definition and

descritization is generally based on drainage patterns, surface slopes and land
use patterns. It is usually preferable if sub-catchments are chosen in such a way
that they have homogenous physical characteristics.
a) Defining flow paths
Identify watershed from base maps. Classify existing and future
developments in accordance with their effect on hydrology, hydraulics and
storm water quality. Identify locations of discharge points along with their
capacity and downstream effects.
b) Formulating conceptual alternatives
The storm water drainage system is to be developed in conjunction with
overall development plans.

ii. Flow estimation and check:- Flow estimation could be done by establishing a
hydrologic model by using design rainfall data and the estimation of hydrologic
parameters such as runoff coefficient.

iii. Initial assessment of minor systems:- Existing drainage alignments, clearly

defined channels or suitable swales should normally be set aside as major
drainage lines. Starting from extreme upstream of the catchment, an initial
assessment calculation is carried out.

iv. Checking flows in the Major system:- After the initial minor system is
developed, flows in the major design system is checked.

v. Preliminary design:- Using the initial analyses, preliminary design is made for the
major and minor systems. Consideration is also to be given to alternatives which
may result in a more economic design.
In the investigation of an individual scheme, the full range of design alternatives
should be considered to determine the best alternative.

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Each alternative in the preliminary design involves:

a) Defining alignments and grades for storm water drainage channels. Factors
that will influence alignment and grades include utility lines, embankments,
buildings, etc. Other factors that influence channel grade include existing
slope, erodiblity, available right-of-way and channel lining. Open drains
(covered as required) or engineered waterways will be required when pipe
sizes become so large as to become uneconomical. In existing built up urban
areas, the available land for open drain may be insufficient in which case
larger pipe diameters, multiple pipes or box culverts will be required.
The major system should use open space reserves to convey surface flows
and land for this purpose is to be set aside as perpetual reserve. In the upper
most area of a drainage catchment, major drainage ways may not consist of
readily distinguishable channels. The designer should determine the path that
the major system design runoff event will consider.
b) Locating and sizing inlets with possibility of pipe inlets for open drains in
mind.
c) Computation of water surface profile and energy grade line based on storm
water drainage system alignment, grades and inflows so that the alignments
and grades are adjusted to comply with freeboard criteria.
d) Evaluating how topography must be adjusted to ensure that the flows are
conveyed safely down gradient without threatening lives, safety or property.
e) Evaluating behaviour of detention facilities during the major system design
condition and assuring that detention dams, which could pose a threat to
human safety or property if they fail, are designed to handle extreme flows.
f)

2.1.4

Evaluating culverts and bridges to assure that applicable criteria are not
violated and the size and characteristics of conveyances are adjusted till the
level of backwater during the major system design runoff event meets target
levels. The backwater computation is also used to define the area affected by
backwater flooding during the major events and to effect the necessary
measures.

Review of System Plan and Design

Prepare preliminary level capital and operation/maintenance cost for the

alternatives. If feasible and appropriate, use life cycle cost theory for economic
evaluation. The design cost objective should be to minimize the total annual costs
of the drainage facilities and flood-related damage/s.
Evaluate the alternatives with important qualitative criteria such as preservation of
open space, water quality benefits.
Prepare a preliminary design report that contrasts the alternatives quantitatively
and qualitatively in a form suitable for submission to the regulators.

2.1.5

Re-Evaluation

The preliminary drainage network developed in previous sections and adjusted, as a

result of review, should be re-evaluated. This involves repeating the preliminary
calculation for the adopted design to verify that it meets the designed targets.
Hydrologic assumptions, catchment boundaries, sub-catchment delineation, street
classification, pollutant load estimates, assumed removal efficiencies and many other
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preliminary design values that will be used subsequently in final design should be
reviewed for accuracy and applicability to final design.

2.1.6

Final Design Detailing

The following steps will complete the process.

a)

Obtain final street grades, geometry, elevations, etc..

Often it will be necessary to revise street construction details to facilitate
drainage. This may include adjusting cross fall on streets, rising required ground
elevation at buildings adjacent to streets to accommodate major drainage, or
increasing street gradient to achieve sufficient capacity within the street. It is
important to assure that floor elevations of buildings are well above streets
crown elevations to prevent repeated flooding.

b)

Hydraulic Design of the Open Channels and Pipe Drainage Systems

A realistic Manning roughness value for final design should be determined and
applied, treating the conduits as either open channels or pipes flowing full, as
appropriate. For open channel flow, the energy grade line should be used.
For pipe storm water drains, the hydraulic grade lines must be reviewed for
various runoff conditions to ensure that the hydraulic grade line is consistent with
desired system performance.

2.1.7
i.

Implementation

Preparing Plan Implementation Program: - The questions of when the plan

elements are to be implemented, who has the primary responsibility for
implementing them, and how the implementation is to be carried out should be
addressed. The number of implementers can vary widely depending on the size
and complexity of the storm water management plan.
The elements of the recommended plan should be prioritised and scheduled. The
following factors may be used to set the prioritisation.

The operation of certain components of the storm water management system

may be dependent on the existence of other components.

Higher priority should be given to those elements of the recommended plan

that are likely to provide the greatest benefit in relation to the stated objectives.

Some elements may not be implemented if action is not taken immediately or

at some other appropriate time to capitalise on special circumstances or
opportunities.

Special opportunities that could have a bearing on the implementation of a plan,

such as possible sources of financing, should be identified. Other aspects of
implementation programme include clear identification of desired endorsements,
agreements, and required approvals and permits
ii. Plan Implementation - Of all the steps in the planning process, plan
implementation is the most unpredictable. The extent to which a comprehensive
storm water management plan is accepted and the enthusiasm with which the
public and private sectors will push for its implementation will depend, among
others, on the following factors:
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the credibility of the plan as determined by the quality of the technical work and
the thoroughness of the community involvement carried out during the
planning process; and,

the frequency and severity of storm water-related problems and the level of
concern that past problems will occur again.
The ultimate test of a storm water management plan is the degree to which storm
water problems have been mitigated and the degree to which potential storm
water problems have been prevented from occurring.

2.1.8

Plan Components

Storm water management plans should consist of two major components: a technical
report, and supporting plans.
i.

Technical Report - This report should provide a comprehensive analysis of

existing and proposed storm water quantity and quality conditions for the
catchment. The report should provide narrative descriptions of existing conditions
and how the proposed system will meet objectives of the plan, and contain all
necessary technical data for both existing and proposed conditions.

ii.

Supporting Plans - A conceptual or preliminary plan of the proposed storm water

conveyance, runoff quantity control, and water quality control systems, based
upon accurate field topographic mapping should be provided along with sufficient
details to identify systems elements. Plans should be of adequate scale and detail
for accurate definition and location of all system elements.

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