GEO has been working on stormwater projects well before the central government coined the term “Sponge City.” We are one of few foreign firms with comprehensive experience and success in terms of planning, analysis, design, and construction. We work directly for municipal governments and partner with local and foreign design teams. Let us know how GEO can help!
The foundation for the Forest Gate Weir has been constructed. This weir spans 34 meters in length was design to convey base and flood flows (5 cubic meters). This is one of 55 individual water structures that GEO designed with Terrain Studios for the 26 square kilometer Xing Yuan New Town project in the City of Hanzhong, China. Stay tuned for updates in the reaming 54 structures!!!!
Two Anna’s hummingbird babies hatched about 15 days ago and are growing at exponential rates. The two of them barely fit in the nest. It will be a sad day to see them leave but we are hopeful to see mom next year, same time, same tree and start a new family. Happy spring to all!
We are lucky to have another Anna’s hummingbird nest right outside our office in a stand of cedars. It is cold outside (mid-40s) but it does not seem to faze these soon to be parents. Anna’s hummingbirds are a west coast species whose name comes from a 19th century Italian duchess Anna De Belle Massena. The female builds the nest that is super camouflaged and cares for the young. There are typically 1 or 2 eggs per nest, which is the case this year. The hummingbird eggs are roughly the size and shape of a small jellybean.
We are thrilled at the quality of the porous asphalt street paving installation that GEO designed for the Dihua Sewage Treatment Plant LID retrofit project in Taipei, Taiwan. Kudos to Chao Jan Construction Ltd, they are true professionals. Power washing at regular intervals will clean small particles of debris that have blocked the tiny holes in the asphalt, preventing water from draining through the pavement. Taiwan has higher humidity than colder climate so GEO has suggested more frequent cleaning cycles because of mossy or moldy growth that blocks the holes.
We broke ground last month on a Low Impact Development (LID) project in Taipei, Taiwan. This is our first LID project in Taiwan and one of the first LID demonstration projects in Taiwan using US design methods.
The project site is located at the Dihua Sewage Treatment Plant in Taipei. This LID retrofit project provides pervious parking space and connection pathways for staff and visitors. The total area is about 9,530m2, which includes 98 “green” vehicle parking spaces while protecting 111 existing trees. To collect, treat, and detain stormwater onsite, we designed subsurface gravel storage, porous asphalt, rain gardens, and constructed wetlands.
All the LID tools will be constructed and fully functional prior to the rain season. On average, Taiwan experiences three typhoons every year (July-September), providing much of the water supply, but also causing damage, flooding, and landslides. This new infrastructure will help build in resiliency to combat more intense storm events resulting from climate change.
GEO has been working on Sponge City projects in China since 2014 to reduce city flooding and improve water quality of receiving water bodies. A familiar response we hear from local design professionals in China is that they understand the concept but are unclear how to implement it. This program requires close collaboration between experienced stormwater engineers and landscape architects to not only develop the plan but prove through stormwater modeling and hydraulic calculations that runoff reduction and total suspended solids (TSS) removal goals are being met. GEO has successfully completed up front planning and analysis, LID design, LID computations, and construction support in numerous city. Check out the link below for more project references and let us know how our US/China design team can help you!
Thank you to Professor Husain Chang in the landscape architecture department for inviting me to give a web-based lecture to her Contemporary Eco-City class. This talk covered stormwater planning, analysis, and design to support China’s Sponge City program. Massive green stormwater projects are happening at a breakneck speed and using the right analysis and design tools are essential to meet to goals of this program. GEO is one of the few foreign firms at the forefront of this program with active construction projects in Zhenjiang, Ningbo, and Wuhan.
GEO’s engineer, Yi Yang and John Lenth, Herrera Environmental Consultants coordinated a tour of Sponge City stormwater facilities in Zhenjiang, China. We were honored to have Zhang Linwei from the central government Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development attend. Mr. Zhang is one of the chief architects of China’s Sponge City program, a multi-billion dollar stormwater retrofit program in select Chinese cities. The tour was followed up by a stormwater monitoring presentation and discussion lead by both GEO and Herrera.
Construction of all 23 Gravity Swales™ is almost complete. These stormwater treatment facilities capture and treat all the campus’s stormwater pipe discharge entering the Yudai River. They are designed to filter small rain events and safely overflow larger storms. The swales will soon be vegetated with emergent wetland plant species and fully integrated into the landscape plan.