Hydrologic design aid for urban grass filter strips

A set of generalised charts are presented in this article as a design aid for hydrologic sizing of grass filter strips. The charts express the volume of runoff and the peak flow rate from a grass strip and the residence time in terms of the size and surface and subsurface characteristics of the grass strip as well as the size and surface characteristics of the area draining to the filter strip. These charts are developed by using a mathematical model based on a kinematic-wave formulation of overland flow and Green-and-Ampt formulation for infiltration. The results are obtained in terms of dimensionless parameters and generalised through the principle of hydrologic similarity. An example is included to demonstrate the use of the charts in a practical design problem.