ah?EUR??,,????'???be?EUR??,,????'???s Stormwater Infiltration Planters

 

When it rains, water flows from the street into gutters, and is then diverted into the infiltration planters by way of cuts in the curb. The road, gutters and sidewalks have been angled slightly downwards to let the water flow into the planters where it will then sink into the ground.
Photos courtesy of ah?EUR??,,????'???be Landscape Architects

Just completed as part of the streetscape design work by ah’b????(C) landscape architects for the South Group’s Evo, Luma and Elleven projects in Downtown Los Angeles, the storm-water infiltration planters are working perfectly, according to Martha Williams, a principal at ah’be landscape architects?EUR??,,????'??+and just in time for the rains. “The storm water is draining off the street into the planters, staying out of the City’s storm drain system, and percolating in the region’s groundwater level just as it is meant to do,” says Williams.

The project, built by the South Group (a partnership between Gerding Edlen Development and Williams Dame Development, both based in Portland), is part of a forward-thinking and eco-driven portfolio of work built throughout the West Coast. The planters, based on the City of Portland’s storm-water infiltration program, are designed to handle a “ten-year” storm. It is important to reduce the amount of storm water run-off going into the City’s system for several reasons. Storm water overloads the City’s sewer systems, flushing sewage into the region’s beaches. The filtration planters clean the water of all of the surface oil and dirt that accumulates on the road system and prevents the polluted water from going out to the beaches with no treatment.

The water flowing through the planters helps to re-charge the region's aquifer with water filtered through the planter's biological system.

According to Calvin Abe, president of ah’b????(C) landscape architects, the long-term hope is for these planters to set a standard on how polluted storm water can be prevented from running off into our beaches. “This is an example of how a developer can build a property, be successful with their investment, and be environmentally responsible at the same time,” says Abe.