Check Dam Solution
Lake Taylor Residential Area
The second problem our team addressed were the heavily eroded stormwater conveyance ditches located within the Lake Taylor residential areas. The team was able to see the problem areas first hand during the site visit in November of 2019. The original ditch gradient was no longer present and the ditch has been incised to a depth of 3 feet. During rain events, the local residents explained the ditches will fill halfway up with water which doesn't flow out of the ditch entirely after the rain event. Residents are then left with standing water in their backyards and minor flooding. The following gallery contains site images from the visit in November.
Design Process
During the design process, the team referred to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Stormwater Design Specification Number 3 (Linked Below). This specification focuses on grass channels which provide a similar function as stormwater ditches, and it contains information and requirements related to designing and implementing check dams into these practices.
Using the parameters in the DEQs Specification No. 3 and various other resources linked below, we created CAD designs specifying important minimum and maximum values for a general design to ensure it can be adjusted and implemented in ditches having different characteristics. The CAD drawings can be see below.
Other Check Dam Resources
GIS Maps of Potential Implementation Locations
