Bioretention Facilities

Practice

Bioretention is a practice to manage and treat stormwater runoff by using a conditioned planting soil bed and planting materials to filter runoff stored within a shallow depression.

System

The system can include the following components: 

  • A bioretention planting area
  • An overflow outlet structure
  • A pretreatment filter strip of grass area
  • A shallow surface water ponding area
  • A soil zone
  • An under drain system

Facilities

Bioretention facilities can be distributed across a development site which can result in smaller, more manageable stormwater management, and thus, helping control runoff close to the source where it is generated.

Bioretention Garden

Purpose

Bioretention facilities capture rainwater runoff to be filtered through a prepared soil medium.
Once the soil medium reaches capacity, stormwater begins to pool at the surface of the planting soil.

Bioretention diagram