Bioretention: Life Cycle Costs

Version 3.0 of the LID Life Cycle Costing Tool that was updated in December of 2021. (TRCA, 2019))

Overview

Given that Bioretention is a widely used name and a general "catch-all" term for most vegetated LID practices that temporarily store stormwater runoff in depressed planting beds there are a number of configurations of the feature that can be used in various contexts and environments. Depending on native soil infiltration rate and physical constraints, the facility may be designed without an underdrain for full infiltration, with an underdrain for partial infiltration, or with an impermeable liner and underdrain for no infiltration/filtration only (i.e., a stormwater planters or biofilter) design. STEP conducted life cycle costs estimates for each of bioretention's 3 design configurations which can be viewed below. To design your own life cycle cost estimates that can be adapted to fit your project budget and unique development context access the updated LCCT Tool here.

Bioretention (all 3 design scenarios): Includes pretreatment sump at inlet and assumes that rehabilitation of filter media bed is performed at 25 years.

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.

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

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 natural ground material characteristic of or existing by virtue of geographic origin.

The rate at which stormwater percolates into the subsoil measured in inches per hour.

A perforated pipe used to assist the draining of soils.

A bioretention BMP featuring an impermeable liner and underdrain that prevents infiltration of runoff into the underlying native soil; provides sedimentation and filtration of urban runoff as it passes through the mulch layer, engineered filter media and vegetation root zone.

A bioretention cell that features an impermeable liner that collects and treats stormwater through sedimentation and filtration only (i.e., no infiltration).

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

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

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

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.

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.

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.