Injection molded, arched chambers can be used individually or in series to provide a highly effective, clog resistant drainage system.
Due to the stringent water quality and erosion prevention demands of the California Coastal Commission, the CUSD contracted RRM Design Group for architecture and civil engineering services and Earth Systems Pacific for soil engineering to coordinate a resolution. The team chose to implement the Environmental Passive Integrated Chamber (EPIC Chamber™) System, a water management solution from Indianapolis-based Firestone Specialty Products. The system can collect and store water from all available stormwater and hardscape run-off and help reduce municipal irrigation water reliance by more than 50 percent.
The solution was fully customized for Cambria Elementary and comprised two main components:
- EPIC Chamber – injection molded, arched chamber that can be used individually or in series to provide a clog resistant drainage system. The system is non-pressurized with no moving parts. It uses the strategic placement of holes to control water flow through and out of the chamber. The transfer of water is a natural function of gravity.
- EPIC Pan – used as a water barrier for the chamber, the pan allows a certain amount of filtered run-off to infiltrate and recharge the groundwater table.
The system can provide the school with a source of free irrigation water by harvesting rainfall during its two-month wet season, an important consideration in Cambria where summers are long and dry. The water management plan for this project included six strategically located EPIC profile sections across the 12-acre facility, with a combined turf area of 130,000 square feet. The initial storage volume of the profile sections provided 325,000 gallons of storage at 2.5 gallons per square foot. Located beneath the main athletic field, a secondary storage of horizontally placed reservoirs offered the additional capacity to collect 1.7 million gallons.
Preserving the Recreational Fields
Heavy rain events, especially in condensed time frames, and standing water can wreak havoc on parks and fields. When the EPIC system is positioned beneath a park or field, such as the Cambria school installation, the system's drainage and filtration abilities help mitigate turf issues. Also, this coastal application captures stormwater and hardscape run-off by moving water below ground to help relieve elements that may contribute to surface erosion. Additionally, the passive onsite approach uses sand to retain nitrates, phosphates and other pollutants as nutrients within the system for above-surface vegetative growth, ensuring that the fields remain healthy.
