Sustainable Drainage System from Urban Designer Perception in University Technology Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus Mohammad Bakhshi1, Mohsen Mohtashami2 and Mohammad Hussaini Bin Wahab3
1
[email protected]
2
[email protected] 3
[email protected]
This paper outlines the national approach of stormwater management in Malaysia. In order to cure stormwater runoff in the campus, a conventional drainage system has been designed to provide the fastest possible transport of stormwater runoff out of the catchments into the receiving water. Conventional drainage system, unfortunately has led to increase the occurrence of overflowing stormwater in the areas of UTM KL Campus. Therefore conventional drainage system is no longer an effective measure in solving stormwater runoff .Due to this problem, increasing the public awareness to the negative impact of urban stormwater runoff to the environment has led the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to introduce the new Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia and Best Management Practices (BMPs) in 1975. Therefore this study had been carried out with the aim to determine the important element of a sustainable drainage system in a campus that can be applied in UTM KL Campus. The study was conducted by using observations and semi-structure interview form expert panel in UTM KL. The findings indicated in the campus are still at the initial stage in adopting the sustainable drainage system concept. This study has been concluded that there is a serious need for the establishment of a clear guidance for a sustainable drainage system in UTM KL campus. Stormwater management is the process of departing from the traditional approach which is currently going on in the UTM KL Campus to a more ecological and sustainable drainage system which is in peace with the nature. UTM KL must put a lot of efforts to improve the conventional drainage system to a more sustainable drainage system if they want towards achieving a sustainable campus status in the future.
Keywords: Stormwater management, campus design; sustainable campus; qualitative method
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Introduction The concept of sustainability arises with the climate changes and increasing environmental problems. Saygin and Ulusoy (2011) examined that around the world, most of the campus master plans and designs increasingly adopt sustainability approach towards stormwater management which is a significant issue due to the global warming and increasing scarcity of water resources. Conventional ‘hard engineering’ stormwater infrastructure and drainage cause problems such as water runoff and flooding. Storm or surface runoff moves on the ground by gravity and flows into streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and oceans. Urbanization affects the drainage systems, because urbanization increases the amount of the impervious surfaces (roofs, streets, parking lots and sidewalks) and decreases the amount of pervious areas.
Literature review Central European University (2014) stated that the concept of “sustainable campus” describes as a method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future. In other words, it is a way to improve the sustainable performance within a university campus, and increase the awareness among employees and students of the university. Pennsylvania State University (2014) identified many principles for sustainable campus is to provide their commitment towards environmental stewardship and balances the needs of present and future generations. The relevant principle “develops a comprehensive campus stormwater management approach to mitigate impacts of campus development and improve water quality”. Ghani et al., (2008) examined in order to manage stormwater, different techniques can be applied. The relevant concept which is defined as sustainable drainage system (SDS) has been promoted in U.K that is for the long period of time. This system can manage urban stormwater runoff for a long time to fight contamination in urban settlements. This framework is carried out by Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA, 2007). It makes note of the amount and nature of stormwater runoff and what is the value of stormwater surface in the cities (CIRIA, 2007). The frameworks will work comprehensively with a specific design with SUDs techniques. The SDS system can remove pollutants and facilitate infiltration and purification process occurring in the grassed swale, bio-filtration bowls, lakes, wet ponds and so on. At last, in the context of urban design, this system will create an opportunity to have relaxation and leisure spaces in order to meet the social needs. Some practices have been done in Malaysia based on Malaysian drainage 4-101
manual known as Best Management Practices (BMPs, 1975) and Urban Stormwater Management Manual (MSMA, 2001). Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia launched those manuals regarding to water resources in Malaysia based on experience in foreign countries. Ghani et al., (2008) examined the techniques which was tested and presented in international conference in 2008 in U.K regarding its applicability and being practical. The first implementation of this system was tested in Engineering Campus,in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). USM constructed the Bio-Ecological Drainage Systems in 2002, (Zakaria et al., 2003; Ghani et al., 2004), it offers an appropriate condition for stormwater management under tropical weather. The system includes three elements such as ecological swales, bio-filtration storage, and ecological ponds. Zakaria et al., 2007 and Chang et al., 2008 highlighted another two projects which are done and constructed based on SDS such as Taiping Town Clinic in Perak and DID Mechanical in Ipoh. After reviewing and studying on the conventional Malaysian drainage system by Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia which comprises all the Best Management Practices (BMPs) in 1975. SUDS techniques were suitable for Malaysian condition based on experience in foreign countries (MSMA, 2001). The implementation of the proposal designs are as follows: 1)
Grassed swale system should be proposed for the small drainage system.
2)
Ecological swale should be built on the areas that have no drainage system in the open spaces of the campus.
3)
Detention storage should be proposed to reduce the water flows from the building and increase infiltration which controls quantity of stormwater runoff unlike the present design which the typical open swale.
4)
On-site Stormwater Detention (OSD) should be built as a storage for excess stormwater is also kept in the dry pond constructed with a storage system.
Scope and Limitation The scope of this study is limited to the observation of UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus.
An interview was conducted in Maintenance Unit Department of UTM
HARTA BINA in UTM KL Campus. There was an interview with Mr. Fadhly as an assistant engineer. This interview was carried out for a validation of the existing physical settings in UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus to make research methods on; how Sustainable Drainage System (SDS) can be implemented in UTM KL Campus? and how stormwater management can be managed according to best Malaysian Practices (BMPs) in 1975 and Urban Stormwater Management Manual (MSMA) in 2001 was launched by Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia? This study does not
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include the improvement the water quality management.
Methodology This study draws on the findings of a case study of UTM KL Campus which involves literature review, observation and interview methods of studying with qualitative approach in data collection. a) Data Collection A combination of data collection methods have been used in order to answer the research questions. These data collection methods include direct observations and face to face interview. A detailed literature review analysis was used as a means of synthesizing current knowledge and to provide a framework for data interpretation. The literature review and analysis and each data collection method will be described in more detail in the subsequent sections. b) Literature Review Analysis The goal of the literature review and analysis was to examine the critical points of current knowledge of Sustainable Drainage System (SDS) in the UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus. There are three important parts under the literature review where the first part explains about the definition of stormwater management .The second part of the literature review is about the Sustainable Drainage System (SDS) in Malaysia. While the last part is to describe methods of Sustainable Drainage System (SDS) which was used in USM Campus and Taiping Health Clinic as a way to manage stormwater in the whole a campus and clinic environment and for future sustainable drainage system too which can be implemented in UTM KL Campus. The purpose of the literature review was to help the author on the general overview of study was how to manage a sustainable drainage system in the UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus. Literature review was done through reading and researching on the subjects from books, journals, international and local conferences paper which are related to this study. c) Observations The first data collection method was direct observations which are a useful method to use, to document physical aspects of a site without having to rely upon people’s responses to questions (Patton, 2002). Additionally, direct observations are necessary when direct information is needed or understanding the environment in which they are located. In this study, direct observations were carried out within the UTM KL Campus on the weekdays of 20th October and 21st October of 2014. The morning period was from 10:30 am to 11:30 am and in the afternoon from 3:30 pm 4-103
4:00 pm. An observation guide was prepared in advance to ensure that similar observation strategies and techniques were used. Observation guides presented to compare information from several sites which have noted by Patton (2002). The structured format of these guides allowed for easier comparisons and categorization of the data collected. The data collected from these direct observations has been analysed and will be discussed d) Semi-Structured Interview In this study, the semi-structured interview method as described in Fellows and Liu (2008) was adopted. This is to understand the perspectives of urban design to the sustainable drainage system in the UTM KL Campus. Face to face interview was conducted with the Landscape Architect of HARTA BINA in UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus that has more than five years of working experience within landscape architecture industry. The set of questions were prepared as a guideline prior to the interview session which was held normally around half an hour. The main objective of the questions presented within this theme was to explore interviewee’s opinion on the major element towards sustainable drainage system concept. In general, the interview fell into these common themes: Theme I: To investigate the major element towards sustainable drainage system design in the UTM KL Campus. Theme 2: How to achieve a sustainable drainage system. Theme 3: The benefits of a sustainable drainage system in a campus. Theme 4: The obstacles and challenges of a sustainable drainage system in a campus
Analysis and Validation UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus Observations The observations were recorded in order to analyse and validate the conventional physical problems for drainage systems caused stormwater runoff surface. During the observations of the four zoning areas (Block H ,H1, P and P1) in the campus, it was noticed that the drain is the typical 1 ft. drains which caused water runoff during the a intensity of rainfall. Subsequently after observation on the second chosen zoning area of Football Field (“Padang Bola “), there is a large surface of water runoff. Unfortunately, there is no adequate drainage system to cater the water flow during a heavy down pour in the area of Block J4. However, in the third zoning area of Block F2, there is typical open
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swale.
Block H and H1 observations: Based on the capacity of the drainage system it
does not cover the intensity of rainfall ( see Figure 1)
Figure1: The design of typical 1 ft. drains in Block H and H1 in UTM KL Campus
Block P and P1 observations: The existing drainage system in the surrounding of
buildings was not planned before the buildings were built. Based on this issue, the drainage system has caused deterioration and damages to the foundation of the buildings.
Figure 2: The design of typical 1 ft. drains in Block P and P1 in UTM KL Campus
Football Field (“Padang Bola “) observations: The surroundings of the football
field (Padang Bola), there are many open spaces without sufficient drainage system to cover water runoff (see Figure 3).
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Figure3 and 4: Water runoff surfaces in a rainy day in the Padang Bola (football field) of UTM KL Campus
Block J4 observations: In the middle of building of the campus, it was observed
that there are some part of this area has no drainage system (see Figure 5).
Figure5: No drainage system was built in Block J4
Block F2 observations: In the campus, there are some areas that have typical
open swales which are not sustainable system. This drainage system is a typical way to connect the small drains to the pond. It should be transform from the typical open swale to detention storage which can carry large quantities of water to the pond.
Figure 6: Typical open swales in Block F2 in UTM KL Campus
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Block J1 observations: The new physical settings for the Block J1 show that the
techniques are still old and it is not implementing in sustainable way.
Figure 7: New drainage which is under construction in Block J1 in UTM KL Campus
Pond Observations: After a close examination of the area, it was noticed that
there is only one pond adjacent to the mosque located to the north part of campus. It can cover the stormwater runoff in the middle dimension of the campus to the existing pond. In the middle area of the campus, there is a slope which is obstructing the water flow from the south side to north side.
Figure 8: Existing pond collected water runoff from the surfaces of the north side of areas in UTM KL Campus
Analysis of observation In sum, there were four aspects needed to re-examine and analyse for a remedial and modification from the old-fashioned drainage system to a sustainable drainage system which has to be implemented in the UTM KL Campus. There should be a proposal for a transformation from the conventional drainage system to a sustainable drainage system. It also should be an implementation of a plan as shown in the Table 1 as follows:
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Table 1: Proposal based on the physical setting observations Observations
/
Existing physical setting
Proposed physical setting
1
Typical 1ft drains
Grassed swale system.
2
There was no drainage
An ecological swale should be built on
system in the open spaces
the areas.
Characters
and pervious areas. 3
The present typical open
Detention storage, increase infiltration
swale.
which controls quantity of stormwater runoff.
4
Pond does not cover the
On-site Stormwater Detention (OSD) as
whole campus area and
a storage for excess stormwater is also
lack of one pond in the
kept in the dry pond constructed with a
north of the site
storage system.
Verification with expert panel There was verification of the results with the expert panel when there was an
interview and interviewee confirmed that those sustainable drainage methods are good in the practical way and it is sufficient more than conventional system with different perspective. It could protect stormwater runoff from pollutants. It would not be a place for waste dumping and animals such as rats cannot use those drainages too.
Interview Analysis According to the table 2, interviewee has commented that coordination among relevant parties from the level of planning; design phase and management achieved the highest percentage with 50%. It is followed by the responsibility of developer which is about 40%, legal argument issues is about 25%, and financial support for cleanup of water runoff with 25% and monitoring for the development of stormwater management with 15% and lastly public campaign for public awareness with 10%. As from above that the majority percentage comes from coordination among relevant parties from the level of planning; design phase and management as it was the major issue on sustainable drainage system.
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Table 2: Issues on planning, designing and management towards a sustainable drainage system design in the UTM KL campus. No. 1
Percent
Issues on planning, designing and management Coordination among relevant parties from the level of planning, design
50
phase and management. 2
Responsibility of developer
40
3
Legal argument issues
25
4
financial support for cleanup of water runoff
20
5
Monitoring for the development of stormwater management
15
6
Public campaign for public awareness
10
Table 3: Summarize of the Response from Interviewee Respondent
Obstacles and Challenges of
The benefits of (SDS)
(SDS) R1
achieve (SDS)
Individual grass channels cannot treat very large drainage.
under tropical climate. thick
vegetative
Improves the quantity and quality of runoff
Wet swales are not suitable A
Right combination of sustainable
cover
is
needed for proper function.
drainage
system
(SDs)
Minimizing the amount
should not use the drainage
of
systems as dumping areas for
the waterways
pollution
Systems
trash. If the design is improper, a sustainable
drainage
Constructions of
swales
before
entering
will
the
completion of the building Operation
techniques
The students and employees
proper
How to
of
public awareness
blend
environmentally friendly.
system can’t be achieved.
Table 3 shows that the result from response of the interviewee by using content analysis. The respondent agreed that a sustainable drainage system can be applied in the UTM KL Campus. In order to achieve a sustainable drainage system in UTM KL Campus, several obstacles and challenges need to be overcome such issues of insufficient drainage, wet swales, thick vegetative cover is needed and conventional drainage used as dumping area by students and employees. Besides that a sustainable drainage system can bring a lot of benefit to UTM KL Campus such as improvement of quantity and quality of runoff water, the right techniques for the
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combination of sustainable drainage system (SDS) and minimizing pollution. However, it is very important the Constructions of swales and to increased public awareness about sustainable drainage system in order to achieve a successful stormwater management in UTM KL Campus.
Discussion and Results UTM KL Campus should take a series of measures to reduce runoff rates and runoff volumes by developing stormwater management and sustainable drainage system with techniques that can collect stormwater sufficiently and to enable the stormwater flows to the detention storage, which is the missing function in the conventional drainage system of the campus. According to the concept of sustainable drainage system, urban designers, urban planners and all the relevant authorities should take responsibility to make stormwater management for the UTM KL Campus. This process has to be taken to the next level to ensure that all the parts of the drainages should be well-designed and well-connected. Even though there are some parts that are well-designed, the problems will still persist if the management do not take serious measures to show the connectivity of the system through the a comprehensive stormwater management plan in which stormwater from impervious or pervious areas flows to the dry pond.
Proposed Physical Settings New design proposed physical settings introduce the comprehensive plan to whole campus to provide successful design which consists four major components in whole system including grassed swale, ecological swale, detention storage and on-site Stormwater Detention (OSD) which is shown as following: Grassed Swale: should be designed to collect any excess water from the drains, whilst the flow from pervious and impermeable surface will be directed to the grassed swales, thus it will be able to decrease on site peak flow and infiltration rates. These transformations will improve the greenery as well as it will provide a healthier environment. Ecological Swale: Through the observations, many parts of the open spaces did not provide any drainage to collect water runoffs. However, it would be sufficient if there is an appropriate drainage system to the said areas. Detention Storage: In the normal drainage system, open swales are also the elements that connect normal drains to the wet pond. The transformation of the
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open swales to the proposed detention storage will cover stormwater runoff and it is managed according to the Best Malaysian Practices (BMPs) and Urban Stormwater Management Manual (MSMA, 2001). The conventional drainage system that is opens wales which are under construction and some of them are old fashioned. The below design is the appropriate design of detention storage that it can be replaced with conventional open swales. On-site Stormwater Detention (OSD): Based on the data collected from the relevant literature reviews, observations and interviews, the results show that one of the most important components in the sustainable drainage system is the dry pond. The dry pond is a technique of storage on how to preserve the stormwater flow. The preservation of stormwater can be efficient if it can be collected and stored sufficiently. Looking at the observations of the campus area, there is only one pond which is insufficient. The wet pond is situated on the south side of the campus and should be converted to a sustainable dry pond and can preserve the stormwater detention. Furthermore, it has the potential to be a landscape pond as well. This dry pond can also be utilized for multi purposes such as recreational and leisure activities too that make it more sustainable and meet the social and ecological needs as well.
Conclusion Sustainable Drainage System (commonly known as SDS) is an effective way to decrease the risks on the environment. It also prevent to occur flash-flooding when rainwater rapidly flows in the public environment and drainages, causing overloading and back up of water to the surfaces. Mainly, sustainable drainage system slows the rate of surface water run-off and improves infiltration, thus mimicking and imitating the natural drainage. It can be applicable to the any campuses that demand to meet the sustainable campus. The proposed approach is sufficient in the context of environmental conservation and helps to the impervious environment and facilitates the natural circulations of the environment. Furthermore, it seems to be one of the best approaches to achieve a sustainable campus.
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