Hi --can a swimming pool be considered a retention pond? And are swimming pools considered to be 100% pervious? Or is it a matter of whether the water is treated before re-use or release? Thanks so much for any advice!
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Michael DeVuono
Regional Stormwater LeaderArcadis North America
LEEDuser Expert
187 thumbs up
December 29, 2016 - 2:11 pm
Melissa, you need to be able to pass the straight face test. Can you use a swimming pool as a detention basin? Sure, in theory, you could. Can you really??? I suppose if it was empty, and you were going to drain it after each storm.
If you're talking about a pool that is in active use, I can't imagine the 3" of storage between the water surface and coping would ever meet your storage needs for stormwater management.
As far as the LEED rating system goes, there is no real direction on cover type or CN to use. This is left up to your engineer's judgment. I've seen pools modeled as total impervious, or simply net out of the watershed area due to them being self contained as far as runoff goes. I would pick one that you feel comfortable with, and go with it.
Melissa Merryweather
DirectorGreen Consult-Asia
245 thumbs up
December 29, 2016 - 10:49 pm
Ha ha, thanks Michael. Agree, first question was a bit silly but its good to have another opinion on the runoff. I was planning to net it out of the equation. Cheers!