Swales

This article is about installations designed to capture and convey surface runoff along a vegetated channel, whilst also promoting infiltration.
For underground conveyance which promotes infiltration, see Exfiltration trenches.

Bioswale, County Court Boulevard, Brampton

Overview

Swales are linear landscape features consisting of a drainage channel with gently sloping sides. Underground they may be filled with engineered soil and/or contain a water storage layer of coarse gravel material. Two variations on a basic swale are recommended as low impact development strategies, although using a combination design of both may increase the benefits:
Bioswales are sometimes referred to as 'dry swales', 'vegetated swales', or 'water quality swales'. This type of BMP is form of bioretention with a long linear shape (surface area typically >2:1 length:width) and a slope which convey water,
Enhanced grass swales are a lower maintenance alternative, but generally have lower stormwater management potential. The enhancement over a basic grass swale is in the addition of check dams to slow surface water flow and create small temporary pools of water which can infiltrate the underlying soil.
Grass swales are a relatively common landscape feature already and a great opportunity for retrofit, to reduce flow and improve water quality by encouraging settling and infiltration behind a series of check dams.
Retention swales can be imagined as linear, sloped dry ponds. They make a relatively little contribution to water volume and quality control than many other BMPs, but they may feature as part of a site-wide treatment train approach.

Swales are an ideal technology for:

• Sites with long linear landscaped areas, such as parking lots
• Connecting with one or more other types of LID

Types of Swale

Property	Bioswale	Enhanced grass swale
Surface water	Minimal Any surface flow can be slowed with check dams	Ponding is encouraged with check dams
Soil	Filter media required	Amendment preferable when possible
Underdrain	Common	Uncommon
Maintenance	Medium to high	Low
Stormwater benefit	High	Moderate
Biodiversity benefit	Increased with native planting	Typically lower

Planning Considerations

Bioswale with check dams
(vertical scale exaggerated)

Stepped bioretention cells alternative for slopes >6 %
(vertical scale exaggerated)

A linear design (surface area typically >2:1 length:width) is a common feature of a swales:

• An absolute minimum width is 0.6 m is required for bioswales to have healthy plant growth, and to facilitate construction,
• Grassed swales are usually mown as part of routine maintenance, so the cross section will be triangular or trapzoidal in shape with maximum side slopes of 1:3. The minimum width for this type would be 2 m. See Best cross sections

Swales may be graded along longitudinal slopes between 0.5 - 6 %:

• Between 1 - 6 %, check dams are recommended to bring the compensation gradient <1 %.
• Slopes > 6% can accommodate a series of stepped bioretention cells, each overflowing into the next with a spillway.

Design

Distance between dams is determined by equalling the elevation of the crest of each dam, with the elevation of the toe of the upstream dam.
(vertical scale exaggerated)

Pretreatment and inlets

To minimize erosion and maximize the functionality of the swale, sheet flow of surface water should be directed into the side of the BMP. Gravel diaphragms, vegetated filter strips and shallow side slopes are ideal. Alternatively, a series of curb inlets can be employed, where each has some form of flow spreading incorporated. Single point inflow can cause increased erosion and sedimentation which will damage vegetation and contribute to BMP failure. Again, flow spreading devices can mitigate these processes, where concentrated point inflow is required.

Performance

A review of swale-like practices was published by STEP in 1999. The project page and additional tools are available here.

Bioswales

While few field studies of the pollutant removal capacity of bioswales are available from cold climate regions like Ontario, it can be assumed that they would perform similar to bioretention cells. Bioretention provides effective removal for many pollutants as a result of sedimentation, filtering, plant uptake, soil adsorption, and microbial processes. It is important to note that there is a relationship between the water balance and water quality functions. If a bioswale infiltrates and evaporates 100% of the flow from a site, then there is essentially no pollution leaving the site in surface runoff. Furthermore, treatment of infiltrated runoff will continue to occur as it moves through the native soils.

Volumetric runoff reduction from bioswales

LID Practice	Location	Runoff Reduction*	Reference
Bioswale without underdrain	Washington	98%	Horner et al. (2003)
	Scotland	94%	Jefferies (2005)
Bioswale with Underdrain	Maryland	46 to 54%	Stagge (2006)
Bioretention without underdrain	China	85 to 100%*	Gao, et al. (2018)
	Connecticut	99%	Dietz and Clausen (2005)
	Pennsylvania	80%	Ermilio (2005)
	Pennsylvania	70%	Emerson and Traver (2004)
Bioretention with underdrain
	Ontario	64%	CVC (2020)
	Maryland and North Carolina	20 to 50%	Li et al. (2009)
	North Carolina	40 to 60%	Smith and Hunt (2007)
North Carolina	33 to 50%	Hunt and Lord (2006)
Runoff Reduction Estimate*		85% without underdrain; 45% with underdrain

Construction

CVC staff conducting a construction inspection at Kenollie Public School, Mississauga, Ontario. (Photo source: CVC, 2015)

Overview

LID techniques and technologies are new to many municipalities, consulting engineers, and contractors. STEP's construction guidance aims to give practical advice, specific to LID construction, to enable practitioners to successfully construct LID practices.

Common reasons LID projects fail at the construction stage are:

• lack of detail in designs and construction documents
  • Contractors can struggle to build LID facilities properly without enough detail in the contract drawings and without guidance and inspection throughout the construction process.
• lack of knowledge
  • Designers often do not understand the complexities of the construction process, and contractors often don't understand the purpose of LID practices or the technologies they employ.
• lack of effective erosion and sediment control during construction
  • LID practices are most vulnerable to sedimentation and clogging during their own construction or construction of adjacent lands.
• lack of planning and communication
  • Poor communication protocols and the pace and extent of construction may preclude proper inspections and certifications.

Published research corroborates STEP’s experiences in the field (e.g., DelGrosso et al., 2019 ; LSRCA, 2011; CWP, 2009)). Del Grosso et al. (2019) note that LID requires more considerations during construction compared to traditional stormwater management facilities, and that proper construction of is centered around thoughtful construction sequencing, ensuring all parties involved know their responsibilities, protecting soils and media from compaction and clogging, properly installing filter media and aggregate, and ensuring facilities are kept off-line until the entire drainage area is stabilized.

In short, successful construction of LID practices and treatment trains is dependent on proper training of contractors, project managers and inspectors to ensure they understand the functionality of the practices, the proper timing and sequencing of BMP construction as part of overall site activities, the use of flow diversion, erosion and sediment controls during construction, and the oversight needed to avoid common pitfalls.

Regular inspections throughout the construction process of LID practices prevent end products that are not built to the design specifications. Specifically, they ensure that:

• the LID practice has the proper layout, location, footprint, and volume;
• materials meet design specifications;
• any material substitutions and field changes to the design are verified and documented;
• the contributing drainage area is stabilized before the LID practice becomes operational;
• environmentally sensitive areas and the LID practices themselves are protected during construction; and
• inlet, outlet, pretreatment, and piped elements have the correct elevations and inverts.

Furthermore, keeping records of these inspections helps to certify the works after construction and makes for a smooth assumption process.

Construction stages and LID types

The five-step construction process for ground-level LIDs.

STEP divides the construction process for LID practices into five overarching stages:

1. Pre-construction
2. Excavation and grading
3. Sub-surface components
4. Finishing grades and surface layer installation: vegetated LIDs and finishing grades and surface layer installation: permeable pavements, and
5. Post-construction

Most LID practices work at the sub-surface and ground-level by routing stormwater flows from impervious surfaces into excavated or natural depressions or by allowing stormwater to pass through a pervious surface, as is the case with permeable pavements. These depressions are designed and constructed to the meet goals of the LID practice, which may be quality control, quantity control, or water balance restoration. Bioretention gardens, stormwater planters, bioswales, rain gardens, enhanced swales, exfiltration trenches, permeable pavements, infiltration systems (chambers, trenches, and soakaways), and stormwater tree trenches fall into this category.

For this reason, Stages 1-2 and 5 of the LID construction process are fundamentally similar for all sub-surface and ground-level LID types. To illustrate, STEP's recommended processes for excavation do not differ between LID practice types. Excavation procedures are the same, whether for a bioretention garden or a permeable pavement parking lot. On the other hand, stage 4 sub-tasks will vary depending on whether the LID practice's surface is vegetated or permeable pavement. Some sub-tasks in stage 3 will also vary depending on the LID type. For example, permeable pavements often require compaction of sub-surface storage layers. The following sections give a brief description of each over-arching stage, a list of sub-tasks for each stage, and links to the page dedicated to each main LID construction stage.

STEP has developed practice-specific construction inspection checklists for bioretention and bioswales, permeable pavement, enhanced swales, vegetated filter strips, underground infiltration systems (exfiltration systems, trenches, chambers, soakaways), green roofs, and rainwater harvesting.

Green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems have specific construction sequences and requirements that differ from the main sequence described above. STEP has developed guidance for green roof construction; guidance on installing rainwater harvesting practices is forthcoming. When installing these BMP types, always consult the product manufacturer's guidance.

Pre-construction

Pre-construction activities set the stage for the successful construction of an LID practice. The pre-construction page gives guidance on:

• design verification and site walk-through
• LID construction notes
• tendering and contract
• communication, inspection plan, and utilities coordination
• erosion and sediment control measures
• mobilization, access, staging, and perimeter controls

Excavation and grading

Excavation of a rain garden at Belfountain Public School, Caledon, Ontario. (Photo source: CVC, 2021)

Excavation and grading are necessary for installing LID practices with sub-surface components, re-grading land to hold more water, and re-routing overland flow routes into an LID practice. The excavation and grading page gives guidance on:

• clearing and grubbing
• excavation and rough grade
• sub-grade
• final excavated grade and verification

Sub-surface components

Most LID practices use a combination of sub-surface features such as gravel storage reservoirs, liners, underdrains, monitoring wells, and other components to meet their design objectives. The construction process for sub-surface components works from the ground up. While some LID practices include all the sub-surface components listed below, most designs will not include one or more of these layers or components. Permeable pavements can have different construction requirements at this stage, mostly regarding compaction of sub-surface layers. Installing infiltration chambers also requires guidance specific to that LID type. Stormwater Tree Trenches, which consist of subsurface trenches filled with modular structures and growing medium, or structurally engineered soil medium to supporting an overlying pavements, also require advice specific to them.

The sub-surface components page gives guidance on:

• geotextile
• underdrain
• impermeable liner
• overflow
• monitoring wells
• storage reservoir
  • sub-base reservoir (permeable pavements)
  • base course (permeable pavements)
  • infiltration chambers
• choker layer
• curbing and curb cuts
• pretreatment and inlets

Finishing grades and surface layer installation

CVC and Toronto Zoo staff planting the surface layer of a rain garden at Janet I McDougald Public School in Mississauga, Ontario. (Photo source: CVC, 2021)

This construction stage differs between LID practice type. The finishing grades and surface layer installation: vegetated LIDs page has guidance for vegetated LIDs, and the finishing grades and surface layer installation: permeable pavements page has guidance for and non-vegetated LIDs. In many cases the surface of infiltration systems will be traditional asphalt, concrete, or pavers; STEP does not provide guidance on installing non-permeable surfaces.

Stage 4 guidance for vegetated LIDs and permeable pavements

LID practices with vegetated surfaces	Permeable pavements
soil media installation and soil amendments	bedding layer
finish grading	placement and finishing
large stone and riprap	paver installation
plant verification and installation	tamping
mulch placement	joint cutting
stabilizing contributing drainage area and planting adjacent vegetation	joint aggregate
--	curbing
--	stabilizing contributing drainage area

Post-construction

Post-construction tasks ensure that the LID practice was built to specs and that any outstanding issues with it are resolved before assumption. The post-construction page give guidance on:

• Addressing deficiencies
• Final certification

Galleries

Basic grass swales

• 

  Grass swale in CVC headquarters parking lot, Mississauga ON

• 

  Water distributed into a wide grass swale with a rock level spreader

• 

  Flow in this wide swale is being reduced by taller vegetation on some sections (See Manning's n)

• 

Bioswales

• 

  Note the use of stone in the centre of the channel, with mulch cover on the side slopes. Mississauga Road, ON

• 

  Bioswale in High Point neighborhood, Seattle, WA
  Photo credit: USEPA

• 

  Streetside swale in Seattle

• 

  This feature is a bioswale in that the underlying soil has been replaced with engineered filter media. The turf finish simplifies landscape maintenance. Brampton, ON

• 

  A bioswale located on Country Court Blvd., located in Brampton, ON> Read more about the performance of this feature and associated rpoject, by reading the following Grey to Green Conference Presentation, 2018. Dean Young - STEP, 2018

• 

  Bioswale located in Downsview Park, Toronto ON. with Check dams.

• 

  Grassed bioswale with Vegetated filter strips

• 

  Bioswale located in a parking lot with a 'beehive-styled' overflow, with Curb cuts Inlets at the back of the feature, located in the Burlington ON.

• 

  Stone-lined bioswale with rock check dams located to helps slow the flow of water as it enter the system from the nearby roads. [[ STEP, 2017

Check dams

• 

  Enhanced swale with rocky check dams and a metal overflow grate in Northgate Mall parking lot, Seattle. Photo credit: MLSmith

• 

  Bioswale with rock check dams to slow down the water, encouraging infiltration. Note the biodegradable erosion control blanket still in place. LSRCA headquarters, 2017

• 

  Concrete check dam with armourstone to protect against erosion. Concrete colour blends well with surrounding stone. This dam extends to the full depth of the swale and has 25 mm ø weep holes below grade.

• 

  A check dam in action, effectively pooling water.

• 

  A swale during a rain event, with concrete check dams, armourstone, mulch and Tall grasses to slow down moving water (as shown in the .gif file) to promote infiltration in the feature.

Also see Jen's Pinterest board of check dams

See Also

• Bioretention cells
• Check dams

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The portion of water precipitated onto a catchment area, which then flows as surface discharge from the catchment area past a specified point.

Water from rain, snow melt, or irrigation that flows over the land surface.

The slow movement of water into or through a soil or drainage system.

Penetration of water through the ground surface.

Linear bioretention cell designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff. The engineered filter media soil mixture and vegetation slows the runoff water to allow sedimentation, filtration through the root zone, evapotranspiration, and infiltration into the underlying native soil.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

Linear bioretention cell designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff. The engineered filter media soil mixture and vegetation slows the runoff water to allow sedimentation, filtration through the root zone, evapotranspiration, and infiltration into the underlying native soil.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

Best management practice. State of the art methods or techniques used to manage the quantity and improve the quality of wet weather flow. BMPs include: source, conveyance and end-of-pipe controls.

Emphasis on improving the value of particular aspects of water and related land resources.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

Vegetated, open channels designed to convey, treat and attenuate runoff. Design variations range from simple grass channels, which are designed primarily for conveyance to more complex treatment and volume reduction designs like enhanced grass swales, and dry swales or bioswales.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

Vegetated, open channels designed to convey, treat and attenuate runoff. Design variations range from simple grass channels, which are designed primarily for conveyance to more complex treatment and volume reduction designs like enhanced grass swales, and dry swales or bioswales.

Structures constructed of a non-erosive material, such as suitably sized aggregate, wood, gabions, riprap, or concrete; used to slow runoff water. Can be employed in practices such as bioswales and enhanced grass swales.

Stormwater management following the hierarchical approach: Source Control measures, Conveyance Control measure and End of Pipe treatment to achieve the water quality and water balance target for lot level development of the preferred strategy.

A combination of lot level, conveyance, and end-of-pipe stormwater management practices.

Low Impact Development. A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

Vegetated open channel, with check dams; designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff.

The engineered soil component of bioretention cell or dry swale designs, typically with a high rate of infiltration and designed to retain contaminants through filtration and adsorption to particles.

A perforated pipe used to assist the draining of soils.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

Linear bioretention cell designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff. The engineered filter media soil mixture and vegetation slows the runoff water to allow sedimentation, filtration through the root zone, evapotranspiration, and infiltration into the underlying native soil.

Initial capturing and removal of unwanted contaminants, such as debris, sediment, leaves and pollutants, from stormwater before reaching a best management practice; Examples include, settling forebays, vegetated filter strips and gravel diaphragms.

Deposition of material of varying size, both mineral and organic away from its site of origin by the action of water, wind, gravity or ice.

Settling-out or deposition of particulate matter suspended in runoff.

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

Linear bioretention cell designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff. The engineered filter media soil mixture and vegetation slows the runoff water to allow sedimentation, filtration through the root zone, evapotranspiration, and infiltration into the underlying native soil.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

The attachment of gas, vapour or dissolved matter onto the surface of solid materials.

The accounting of inflow and outflow of water in a system according to the components of the hydrologic cycle.

Linear bioretention cell designed to convey, treat and attenuate stormwater runoff. The engineered filter media soil mixture and vegetation slows the runoff water to allow sedimentation, filtration through the root zone, evapotranspiration, and infiltration into the underlying native soil.

The portion of water precipitated onto a catchment area, which then flows as surface discharge from the catchment area past a specified point.

Water from rain, snow melt, or irrigation that flows over the land surface.

A perforated pipe used to assist the draining of soils.

Credit Valley Conservation

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

Vegetated, open channels designed to convey, treat and attenuate runoff. Design variations range from simple grass channels, which are designed primarily for conveyance to more complex treatment and volume reduction designs like enhanced grass swales, and dry swales or bioswales.

Soil, sand and minerals washed from land into water, usually after rain. They pile up in reservoirs, rivers and harbors, destroying fish-nesting areas and holes of water animals and cloud the water so that needed sunlight might not reach aquatic plans. Careless farming, mining and building activities will expose sediment materials, allowing them to be washed off the land after rainfalls.

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

The engineered soil component of bioretention cell or dry swale designs, typically with a high rate of infiltration and designed to retain contaminants through filtration and adsorption to particles.

A broad category of particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates, and available in various particulate size gradations.

The total surface area upstream of a point on a stream that drains toward that point. Not to be confused with watershed. The drainage area may include one or more watersheds.

A hard surface area (e.g., road, parking area or rooftop) that prevents or retards the infiltration of water into the soil.

An alternative practice to traditional impervious pavement, prevents the generation of runoff by allowing precipitation falling on the surface to infiltrate through the surface course into an underlying stone reservoir and, where suitable conditions exist, into the native soil.

The practice of intercepting, conveying and storing rainwater for future use. Captured rainwater is typically used for outdoor non-potable water uses such as irrigation, or in the building to flush toilets.

A lot level bioretention cell designed to receive and detain, infiltrate and filter runoff, typically used for discharge from downspouts.

Open space floodway channels, road reserves, pavement expanses and other flow paths that convey flows typically in excess of the capacity of the Minor Drainage System.

An underlying bed filled with aggregate or other void-forming fill material that temporarily stores stormwater before infiltrating into the native soil or being conveyed by an underdrain pipe.

A mixture of mineral aggregates bound with bituminous materials, used in the construction and maintenance of paved surfaces.

a top dressing over vegetation beds that provides suppresses weeds and helps retain soil moisture in bioretention cells, stormwater planters and dry swales.

Structures constructed of a non-erosive material, such as suitably sized aggregate, wood, gabions, riprap, or concrete; used to slow runoff water. Can be employed in practices such as bioswales and enhanced grass swales.

Structures constructed of a non-erosive material, such as suitably sized aggregate, wood, gabions, riprap, or concrete; used to slow runoff water. Can be employed in practices such as bioswales and enhanced grass swales.

(1) The wearing away of the land surface by moving water, wind, ice or other geological agents, including such processes as gravitation creep; (2) Detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice or gravity (i.e. Accelerated, geological, gully, natural, rill, sheet, splash, or impact, etc).

Low impact development is a stormwater management and land development strategy applied at the parcel and subdivision scale that emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features integrated with engineered, small scale hydrologic controls to more closely mimic pre-development hydrologic functions.

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A hard surface area (e.g., road, parking area or rooftop) that prevents or retards the infiltration of water into the soil.

Refers to the conditions in which an organism lives and survives or the conditions in which an organism resides. These conditions can be described as aspects of a “physical”, “social” or an “economic” environment, depending on the perspective perceived by the observer.

A body of water smaller than a lake, often artificially formed.

Ground depression acting as a flow control and water treatment structure, that is normally dry.