Partridgeberry

In order to understand, and possibly mitigate, observed reductions in water flow throughout the Ipswich River Watershed, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), using funds from a U.S. EPA Targeted Watershed Grant, retained Geosyntec to evaluate the impacts of stormwater flow using Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater management design techniques. Geosyntec designed the study to contrast the stormwater runoff patterns of well-documented conventional development stormwater management with the real-world application of environmentally sensitive site design and LID principles, thus determining the degree to which stormwater runoff is reduced in a new housing development compared to an existing conventional development. The results of this state-of-the-practice comparison would allow communities and developers to assess the effectiveness of the design types and create benchmarks for LID stormwater management. The immediate goal was to help improve groundwater base flow and develop a scientifically-based, reliable stormwater model to aid in other future LID designs within the Ipswich River Watershed. Careful lot-by-lot delineation of drainage and a complete understanding of the flow paths during rainfall events was critical for the success of this project. Partridgeberry Place, a recent residential development, was chosen as the evaluation site.