ODOT Research - Soil Amendment for Stormwater Volume Reduction

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Location and Design Manual, specifies several BMPs that have been approved by the Ohio EPA for use on publicly funded transportation projects. These OEPA approved BMPs are currently the only practices which ODOT can accept for post-construction water quality and water quantity treatment. However, there are common features of roadway projects, such as grassed shoulders and medians that with modification (such as soil amendments) may increase the infiltration capacity, promote evapotranspiration, and serve as a water quantity BMP. The Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Hydraulic Engineering Research, in collaboration with ms consultants, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a research project to determine the effectiveness of soil amendment as a stormwater runoff volume reducing BMP. If found to be cost effective, this potential new BMP may provide a new and improved alternative for post-construction stormwater management for linear transportation construction projects. Designing post-construction stormwater BMPs is particularly difficult for transportation projects due to their linear nature, restrictive construction limits, and limited right-of-way. This presentation will explain why this runoff volume reduction research is important and what impacts the findings may have on future transportation projects within the state of Ohio.