Fluid Situations, Sustainable Sites and Systems: Integration of natural systems in site design with

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Fluid Situations, Sustainable Sites and
SystemsIntegration of natural systems in site
design with a focus on energy and water
Fluid, adj. 1. subject to change variable
2. characteristic of a fluid capable of flowing
and easily changing shape  3. smooth and
unconstrained in movement   4. affording change

• Martin YoklicUniversity of ArizonaEnvironmental
  Research Laboratorymyoklic_at_ag.arizona.edu

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Overview

• Case studies with an arid west perspective on
  site scale energy and water planning issues
• Landscape reclamation/restoration
• Residential scale research/demonstration
• Implications on the evolution of the design
  process
• Integrative
• Interdisciplinary
• Collaborative
• Enabling project sustainability improvements
• Performance measures
• Prescriptive based
• Performance based
• Innovation through collaboration

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Palo Verde Nuclear Power Station
Hassayampa River
Redhawk Revegetation Project Pinnacle West Energy
Corp. Environmental Research Lab. University of
Arizona
Redhawk Power Station
Local Drainage
Centennial Wash
Project site
Gila River
N
1 mile
Maricopa County, Arizona Martin Yoklic, Ed
Glenn, Vanda Gerhart
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Redhawk Power Station

• Project scope
• Reclaim/re-vegetate 1200 acres of previously
  farmed, salt affected upland desert in Central
  Arizona
• Mandated by local jurisdiction for Power
  Stations operating permit
• Environment/Climate
• Average Rainfall 3
• Summer daytime temperatures often exceed 100oF
• Years of crop irrigation (cotton) with
  insufficient drainage caused salts buildup in soil

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Site as Found
Goal To return this land to a biodiverse desert
habitat
Lower Colorado River Subdivision of the Sonoran
Desertscrub Formation
Saltbush Series
Mixed Scrub Series
Creosote Bush- White Bursage Series
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Strategies

• Typical plant associations of the site
• Ecological Restoration and Time
• Natural Succession process
• Regenerate abiotic system
• Jumpstart succession process
• Strategic intervention for long term viability
• Repair site hydrologic function
• Reintroduce plants and seed bank

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Passive Water Management System
A series of interconnecting cross furrows, berms
and catchments that retain and direct water to
discrete parts of the site.
HYDROLOGY
Typical 10 Acre Catchment Area
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Typical Cross Section at Berm
Zone of maximum available water for plants
HYDROLOGY
Plants root into deeper moisture
Dry seeded
Dry seeded
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Reintroduction of Plant Germplasm
NATIVE SEED BANK
Seeding methods chisel, broadcast, imprint, or
tackify
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Environmentally Friendly

• Conservation and Recycling
• Site and native plant disturbance minimized
• Cut and fill minimized and balanced
• Concrete ditches waste used for gabion ballast
  and spillways armor
• Posts for north fence from recycled power poles
• Wildlife Inducements
• Perimeter fence, (4 miles)
• Protection from cattle grazing
• Wildlife accessible (AZ Game and Fish spec.)
• Burrowing owl introduction (35)
• Hawk perches and nesting platforms (3)
• Rainwater catchments (intermittent water supply)
• Plantings supply cover, food, and habitat

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Redhawk Revegetation Site View from the West
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Redhawk Site Summer 2004
Elliot Road
Power Plant Site
Railroad
Phase II Reveg Site
Phase I Revegetation Site
Environmental Research Laboratory University of
Arizona June 2004
Terracing and associated erosion from farming has
been replaced with berms, furrows and gabion
stabilization of the major drainage to slow and
detain storm water. Over 200,000 plants were
installed in 200 acres of irrigated plots.
Native seed has been reintroduced onto the
remaining disturbed acreage using a combination
of hydroseeding, mulching and imprinting.
Utility poles were recycled for fence post.
Irrigation ditch material was recycle as ballast
for erosion control gabions. Phase 1 of the
project was completed June 2004. Monitoring
should be ongoing.
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20 YEARS FROM NOW!
Atriplex series
Creosote-Bursage series
Desert Scrub along ephemeral washes rills
Check dams at Pisinimo constructed 30 years ago
Catchment basin in Avra Valley
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The Carriage House

• Context
• Water can be considered a forest product
• Public lands are a major source in the west
• Using less at the residential scale is a
  response to climate change
• Project Scope
• Evaluate and demonstrate the use of renewable
  resource at the residential scale
• Rainwater harvesting and use
• Solar and biomass energy production
• Small diameter lumber from forest thinnings

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Site and Location
N
The Carriage House is a 560 sq. ft. building
located adjacent to the Research Demonstration
House on the grounds of the USDA Forest Products
Lab in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Research Objectives

• Residental rainwater can be managed to
• Provide irrigation
• Supply non potable household uses
• Filtered and disinfected for potable
• The BioMax and Photovoltaics coupled with
  efficiency can provide sufficient power for a
  typical residence.
• Systems that save energy and water are safe,
  reliable, and provide sustainable security.
• These technologies are available and work well in
  cold climates.

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Rainwater Systems at R/D House
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Household Water Use

• Daily per capita water used in Madison is about
  65 Gallons
• Rainwater can provide a all water needs for a
  family of 2.5 at this site
• Rainwater system design must address water
  quality as it relates to how water is to be used.

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Rain Barrels and Overflow
Rain barrel base prep Note overflow stub ups
First flush device
Overflow
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Non-Potable Rainwater Use

• Non-potable uses include irrigation, toilet
  flush, and clothes washing.
• Separate plumbing system and back flow protection
  required.
• Automated switching for rainwater to municipal
  supply assures seamless operation.
• Overflow

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Overflow Leach Field
Overflow leach field construction sequence
Rain barrel base prep Note overflow stub ups
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Sustainability Systems

• Water
• Rainwater harvesting
• Rainwater storage 2,400 gallon cistern
• Water filtration and disinfection
• Energy
• Biomass gasification system 5kw
• Photovoltaics 3kw
• Grid interconnect
• Sunspace solar heating

Floor Plan
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Construction
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Construction
Small Diameter Logs (6- 8) from Southwestern
Forest Thinnings
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Construction
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Renewable Energy Systems
3 KW grid tied Photovoltaics
5 KW grid tied biomass generator (power and waste
heat)
Passive solar heating
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Water Filtration and Disinfection System

• 1 Water from Cistern
• 2 Bleed line to Cistern
• 3 Filtered water to House
• 4 Pressure Tank
• 5 Pump
• 6 Sample Port
• 7 Pressure Gauge
• 8 System Drain
• 9 Bleed line control
• A 20 Micron Filter
• B 5 Micron Filter
• C Charcoal Filter
• D UV Disinfection

Water Filtration System
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Rainwater Harvesting System Diagram
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Fluid Situations

• Evolving the design process through Integration
• Find the resources to fully understand the site
  and its environmental conditions
• Search out opportunities to be more sustainable
  the site is both the framework and the palette
• Use site, environment and climate to help
  accommodate programmed requirements
• Work with client/stakeholders to adjust program
  to best utilize available resources
• Educate those implementing the project to the
  conditions, methods necessary to achieve the
  planning objectives
• Cultivate an integrated, cooperative process,
  from planning to design and throughout the
  development of a site

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Enabling Tools

• Guidelines and rating systems provide tools and
  measures for developing more sustainable
  solutions.
• Prescriptive based (use low flow water fixtures)
• Performance based (use 50 less water)
• Using them should not limit creativity,
  flexibility or innovation
• Most project have room for innovation
• Some projects require creative use of available
  resources that maybe outside of a prescription
  and even performance based measures

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Summary

• To be more sustainable we need to integrate
  systems
• Integration is accomplished through a
  collaborative and cooperative design/development
  process
• The objectives are to maximize the use of
• Renewable sources of energy
• Available water resource
• Other site resources
• Recycled materials and waste
• Use rating systems and other tools to measure
  results
• Use BMPs for the baseline
• But also Raise the bar
• Go beyond the requirements!!