University of Washington LARC 498 WINTER 2012
WATER +
SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
SYLLABUS
T TH 1:30-2:50
Gould 322
Lab/Help Session: Th 3:00 - 4:20 Gould 114
Na n c y R o t t le , R L A, A SL A
R i c h a r d H o r n e r , M . A SC E
D a n ie l S h a w , M L A C a n d id a t e
h t t p : / / c o u r s e s . b e . w a s h i n g t o n . e d u / L A R C H / 4 9 8 / d e f a u lt . h t m l
nrottle@uw.edu
d4nsh4w@yahoo.com
I love creeks and the music they make.
And rills, in glades and meadows, before
they have a chance to become creeks…
Can anything be more wonderful than a spring?
But the big streams have my heart too.
And the places streams flow into rivers.
The open mouths of rivers where they join the sea.
The places where water comes together
with other water….
- Raymond Carver Where Water Comes Together With Other Water
Water and soil sustain life on earth. These are also primary media that landscape architects manipulate, towards optimizing
their performance to sustain plant, animal, aquatic and human life, and to support their reciprocal interactions.
This course is designed to provide a foundation for future landscape architects working in the urban environment. Its
hydrologic focus is on urban stormwater management: treating water to improve water quality, predicting water quantity
flows, designing facilities to reduce deleterious impacts on aquatic resources, providing sustainable resources for human
needs, and supporting wetland functions. The course also considers artful treatment of water to inspire, educate and bring
its compelling aesthetic and rejuvenating qualities into the urban environment.
Humans and most of the world's ecosystems could not survive without abundant healthy soils. Landscape architects are
responsible for protecting existing soil resources though conscientious planning decisions, sensitive design, and responsible
construction practices. New landscapes cannot thrive without the proper soils to support the divergent requirements of
plants and hardscape structures; such soils in the urban landscape often require significant modification. Landscape
architects also specify the qualities of soils to be used in their design projects, to support plant establishment and growth as
well as to enhance absorption of rainwater and thereby serve as a mechanism for stormwater control. While the topic of
soils as applied to planning decisions is paramount, in the limited time we have in this course we will focus on the basic
parameters and treatment of soils for horticultural and stormwater management purposes, as applied in the landscape
design context.
Goals and Learning Objectives:
Through lectures, readings and projects, students will:
 understand and distinguish between issues and solutions related to water quality treatment, stormwater quantity
management and drainage requirements in the urban environment;
 be able to predict water quantity for reduction of peak flows in moderate storms and for potential water capture
and reuse;
 become familiar with and able to design low impact development landscape features that treat water quality and
attenuate stormwater flows, while providing multiple benefits such as habitat;
 understand basic physical, chemical, biological and environmental performance qualities of soils;
 understand required soil properties for stormwater management, and be able to specify soils to satisfy water
quality and quantity requirements;
 understand and apply soil properties required for general horticultural purposes, and
 become familiar with new technologies for conserving water and soil resources in the urban environment.
LARC 498
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
WINTER 2012 2
Course Format and Assignments
Lectures will form the core of the course, featuring guest as well as faculty lectures. We are fortunate to have leading
professionals in the Seattle area to present the region's cutting edge practices, and in the course we will strive to benefit
from these remarkable local resources. Readings are meant to provide a more complete background and are listed on the
course schedule; it is expected that the student will be familiar with these texts prior to each lecture. A take-home quiz will
be given at both mid-term and at the end of the term with questions drawn from the lectures and readings.
For review and practice of basic skills, and practice with new concepts introduced in the course, we will provide weekly
mini-exercises, primarily to be completed outside of class and reviewed in weekly lab sessions. The exercises will typically
be assigned on a Tuesday and due the following Tuesday, with the Lab session on Thursday for presentations and questions
related to the exercises. While most lab sessions are optional, you are encouraged to attend as these are the times that
Dan and I will be available to answer questions. One or more labs may be required hands-on sessions, and one is planned as
part of a Soils field trip.
One integrative term assignment will be completed by a pair of students during the term, incorporating both hydrologic
and soil concerns. We are planning to work with the local firms of Mithun and Mayfly Engineering to develop ideas, details
and specifications for a linear parkway that incorporates stormwater treatment and habitat in Ballard.
In addition, students will have a choice for a second term assignment:
 complete and present studies on special soils and stormwater management technologies, formatted for inclusion
in the department's Green Technology website: http://courses.be.washington.edu/LARCH/433/research.htm A list
of possible topics will be provided.
or
 participate in design, construction, documentation and presentation of local raingarden(s), working with a local
contractor specializing in stormwater design and construction.
We will offer an urban hydrology field trip on a Saturday during the term, scheduled for the morning and early afternoon of
January 28 or February 4. Students will submit a short summary of the field trip sites and lessons learned, due the following
Tuesday. Vans will be provided.
Texts
Readings are assigned to complement the lectures and serve as resources for project development. Required texts are
mostly available on-line or on library e-reserves:
1. Shaver, Horner et al, Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and Institutional Issues, 2nd
Edition. EPA/NALMS 2007. Access at:
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/mdeq.nsf/pdf/NPS_FundamentalsofUrbanRunoffManagement/$File/Funda
mentals_full_manual_lowres.pdf?OpenElement
2. Hinman, Curtis and the Puget Sound Action Team, Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual
for Puget Sound, January 2005. We will have copies for you by Jan. 12; in the meantime, copies will be
available in the library and studios and the electronic version is available at:
http:www.psp.wa.gov/downloads/LID/LID_manual2005.pdf
3. Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, Appendix I-D (pp D1 - D-32, or 132-164 of
complete manual). Available on-line at:
http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/xml/services/home/environ/water/cip/swmmanual/2008Published/DOEStormwaterManualComplete.pdf and by single volume (you want Vol. I) at:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/manual.html
4. Hinman, Curtis, The Rain Garden Handbook. Download at: http://raingarden.wsu.edu/
5. Low Impact Development: A Design Manual for Urban Areas. University of Arkansas Community Design
Center. Order by mail from: http://uacdc.uark.edu/bookorderform.php ($20 for university students; we
may be able to purchase in bulk.)
6. City of Santa Barbara Storm Water BMP Guidance Manual. Download at:
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/91D1FA75-C185-491E-A88249EE17789DF8/0/Manual_071008_Final.pdf
7. Strom, Nathan and Woland, Site Engineering for Landscape Architects, 5th Ed. 2009 (excerpts on ereserves; a great resource to own.)
LARC 498
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
WINTER 2012 3
Craul, Timothy and Craul, Phillip. Soil Design Protocols for Landscape Architects and Contractors.
(excerpts on e-reserves; a great resource to own.)
Keefer, Robert. Handbook of soils for landscape architects. New York: Oxford Press. 2000. Excerpts on ereserves.
Building Soil Guidelines and Resources for Implementing Soil Quality and Depth BMP T5.13 (from WDOE
SWM for Western WA) 2009. Download at: http://www.soilsforsalmon.org/pdf/Soil_BMP_Manual.pdf
City of Seattle "Rainwise" Raingarden and Cistern installation resources. Download at:
http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/education/stormwater.shtml
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center 2009 Biannual Report. Download at:
http://ciceet.unh.edu/news/releases/unhsc_report_2009/report.pdf
City of Seattle Green Stormwater Infrastructure website (see links on Reference List below).
We provide a broader list of references at the end of the syllabus, some which have been placed on reserve for your use.
The texts by Strom, Nathan and Woland (Site Engineering for Landscape Architects), and by Craul and Craul (Soil Design
Protocols for Landscape Architects and Contractors) have been ordered at the UW Bookstore. You are encouraged to
purchase these for your long-term reference. The LID Manual from the University of Arkansas is required.
Grading
Grades will be assigned based upon criteria developed and approved by department faculty. In general, projects will be
evaluated on three basic criteria: completeness; functional/technical soundness and accuracy; clarity of communication;
and aesthetic quality. Your final grade will be based upon the following:
Mini-exercises
Green Technology Study /or Raingarden
Term Hydrology + Soils Project
Take Home Quizzes
25%
15%
50%
10%
Projects need to be handed in on time unless illness or family situations unexpectedly arise. Without due cause or prior
approval, late projects will be penalized 5% of total available grade per day late.
LARC 498
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
WINTER 2012 4
schedule
date
one
T
3 jan
session topic
readings
exercises /assignments
Course Overview; Water and
Design - Nancy
Mini- Ex. 1, Grading
Basics
Th
5 jan
Water in the Urban Landscape:
Issues and Problems Rich Horner
Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: pp. 2-16 to 219; 3-44 to 3-59, 4 - 74 to 4-107
Review Lab for
Mini-Ex. 1
two
Conventional Stormwater
Management Solutions and
DesignsRich Horner
Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and
Institutional Issues, 2nd Edition, pp. 8-202 to 8-226, 10-265 to
10-279, 11-287 to 11-290
Assign Mini-Ex 2,
Grading Slopes,
Swales and Streets
T
10 jan
Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington,
Appendix I-D
Th
12 jan
Intro to Low Impact Development
(LID)
and
Designing Raingardens Nancy
Puget Sound Low Impact Development Manual, pp. 5 - 97,
175 - 184.
Review Lab for
Mini-Ex #2
Low Impact Development: A Design Manual for Urban
Areas. University of Arkansas Community Design Center.
Hinman, Rain Garden Handbook
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center Report, pp.
18 - 31
City of Seattle: Rainwise Detail Sheets 1 - 8 Building a Rain
Garden; Infiltration Test; GSI Bioretention within Right-ofway Details
three
T
17 jan
Soils Basics: Overview: Basic soil
properties
Darlene Zabowski, UW
Th
19 jan
Soils: Soils & stormwater control
David McDonald, SPU
Building Soil Guidelines and Resources for Implementing Soil
Quality and Depth BMP T5.13 (from WDOE SWM for
Western WA) 2010;
Chapter 10, "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control," in Strom
Nathan and Woland;
City of Seattle Bioretention Soil Specification;
WSU Bioretention Soils Recommendations (on GSI website)
Possible Soils Lab
(Woland 7.2 - 7.3)
four
Soils: Physical properties
Rob Harrison
"Soils in Construction," Chapter 7 in Strom Nathan and
Woland (pp. 123 - 137
Look at: King County Soils Maps:
http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/esrm311/king-countysoil-maps/index.html
And King County Soil Survey:
http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/ESRM311/King-CountySoil-Survey/
Mini-Ex 4 - Woland
Soils Exercises
Chap. 7, 7.3 - 7.18
T
24 jan
Th
26 jan
Keefer, Handbook of Soils for Landscape Architects, pp. 27 52; 91-113; 217 - 225
Mini-Ex 3 - Size and
Design a
Raingarden
Craul and Craul, Soil Design Protocols for Landscape
Architects and Contractors, pp. 1 - 27
NOTE: Evening meeting for Term
Project in Ballard, 7 - 8:30 (optional)
Glacial and Alluvial Soils Field Trip Arboretum (tentative)
ASSIGN GREEN
TECH /
RAINGARDEN
Project
Soils field trip
(Urban hydrology
field trip on Sat.
Jan 28 or Sat. Feb.
4)
LARC 498
five
T
31 jan
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
Water Quantity: Issues and
Solutions, ARCD
Rich Horner
WINTER 2012 5
Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and
Institutional Issues, 2nd Edition, pp. 2-19 to 2-41, 10-250 to
10-265
Mini-Ex 5: Sizing
stormwater
facilities
Low Impact Development, Technical Guidance Manual for
Puget Sound, Chapter 6
ASSIGN TERM
PROJECT
City of Santa Barbara Storm Water BMP Guidance Manual,
Chapters 4 and 5
Th
2 feb
Water Quantity, Hydrologic Analysis
Rich Horner
Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and
Institutional Issues, 2nd Edition, pp. 12-294 to 12-299
City of Santa Barbara Storm Water BMP Guidance Manual,
Chapter 6
(Guidance material on Western Washington Hydrologic
Model)
six
Review Mini-Ex. #5Sizing facilities
(Urban field trip on
Sat. Jan 28 or Feb.
4)
14th Ave. NW Project:
Robin Thaler, Dragonfly Engineering
Sandy Dymale, Mithun
Hydrologic Report for 14th Avenue NW, Mayfly Engineering
T
7 feb
Th
9 feb
Green Roofs for multiple benefits
Nancy
Puget Sound LID Manual 122 - 128, 149- 151;
Portland Ecoroof Guide;
Seattle GSI Green Roof Media Specifications and Testing
Seattle Green Roof CAM 535
Help Session
seven
Soil functions and biology: Sally
Brown, UW (confirm date)
Soil Biology Primer
Assign MID-TERM
Quiz
Th
16 feb
Chemical Properties of Soils: Macro
and Micronutrients and PH
Rodney Pond- (confirm date)
Keefer, 113 - 168
Craul and Craul, 221 - 275
Help Session
eight
Water harvesting systems - cisterns:
Bob Spencer, SPU +Mike Broili,
Natural Systems
(unconfirmed)
City of Seattle Rainwise Sheets: Installing a Cistern:
Disconnecting Downspouts; Rainwise Detail Sheets 9 - 12;
City of Seattle GSI Rainwater Harvesting CAM 520
LID Manual 133 - 140, 150-51
Mid-Term DUE
Mini-Ex #7: Detail
Green Roof or
Cistern
Th
23 feb
Specifying soils + compost and
mulch + requesting and reading
soils report
Howard Stenn, Stenn Design
(confirm date)
Sample soil test reports and specifications; in-class soils
report exercise
Possible Soils +
Compost Lab
nine
GREEN TECH PRESENTATIONS
See Reference List for resources
Term Assignment
Due: Draft
RAINGARDEN DESIGN +
CONSTRUCTION + PRESENTATION
See Reference List for resources
Help session
T
14 feb
T
21 feb
East Ballard Community Association webpage for 14th Ave.
NW Park Boulevard:
http://eastballard.wordpress.com/category/14th-ave-nwpark-boulevard/
http://eastballard.wordpress.com/friends-of-14th/
T
28 feb
Th
1 mar
Mini-Ex #6:
Hydrologic
Approaches to
Term Project
LARC 498
ten
T
6 mar
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
Artful rainwater applications - recap
Nancy
Th
8 mar
Review and Redline
eleven
Scheduled Final: Take Home Final
Due (last half term)
W
15 mar.
WINTER 2012 6
Pennypacker and Echols, "From Stormwater Management to
Artful Rainwater Design"
See also: http://www.artfulrainwaterdesign.net/about
Term Assignment
DUE - Final
Final Quiz Due
12:00 noon
LARC 498
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
WINTER 2012 7
Reference List
Bolded Titles are required reading resources.
Azous and Horner, Wetlands and Urbanization: Implications for the Future. Lewis Publishing, Washington, DC, 2001
Campbell and Ogden, Constructed Wetlands in the Sustainable Landscape. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1999.
City of Portland's Green Stormwater Initiative:
Bureau of Environmental Services, Stormwater Website:
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=34598
http://www.werf.org/livablecommunities/studies_port_or.htm
City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Ecoroof Guide, 2010.
www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=44422
City of Santa Barbara Storm Water BMP Guidance Manual, 2008. Santa Barbara, CA. Download at:
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/91D1FA75-C185-491E-A882-49EE17789DF8/0/Manual_071008_Final.pdf
City of Seattle Green Stormwater Infrastructure Resources:
www.cityofseattle.net/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/GreenStormwaterInfrastructure/ind
ex.htm
www.cityofseattle.net/UTIL/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/GreenStormwaterInfrastructure/St
ormwaterCodeCompliance/GSIResources/index.htm
Bioretention Design and Construction:
http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/education/stormwater.shtml
Client Assistance Memos (CAMs) for Rain Gardens (532), Bioretention Planters (536), Green Roofs (535) and Green Parking Lots
(515)
City of Seattle Green Roof Resources:
www.seattle.gov/dpd/GreenBuilding/Resources/DesignToolsStrategies/DPDS_009485.asp
City of Seattle, Department of Construction and Land Use, Stormwater, Grading, and Drainage Control Codes and Manuals. 2009, 2010.
Access at: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Codes/StormwaterCode/DirectorsRules/default.asp
Craul, Timothy A. and Philip J. Craul. Soil Design Protocols for Landscape Architects and Contractors. Hoboken, N. J.: Wiley, 2006.
Dreiseitl, Herbert and Dieter Grau and Karl Ludwig, Waterscapes. Basel: Birkhauser 2001
Dreiseitl, Herbert and Dieter Grau, New Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water. Basel: Birkhauser 2005
Dreiseitl, Herbert and Dieter Grau, Recent Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water. Basel: Birkhauser 2009
Ferguson, Bruce, Introduction to Stormwater, Concept, Purpose, Design. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1998
France, Robert, Handbook of Water Sensitive Planning and Design. Boca Raton, Fla. : Lewis Publishers, c2002
France, Robert, Wetland Design, Principles and Practices for Landscape Architects and Land-Use Planners. New York: Norton 2003.
Hammer, Donald A. Creating Freshwater Wetlands. Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, c1997.
Hinman, Curtis, The Rain Garden Handbook. Tacoma: WSU Pierce County Extension, 2007. Download at: http://raingarden.wsu.edu/
Hinman, Curtis and Puget Sound Action Team. Low-Impact Development Manual for Puget Sound. Olympia, WA, 2005. Obtain at:
http://www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/LID_tech_manual05/LID_manual2005.pdf
Horner, Richard. Chapter 3, "Protection and Restoration Strategies for Watersheds and Tributaries" in Puget Sound Stormwater Science
Update 2010, pp. 57 - 87. Access on course website.
Keefer, Robert. Handbook of soils for landscape architects. New York: Oxford Press. 2000.
LARC 498
WATER + SOILS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
WINTER 2012 8
Marble, Anne D., A Guide to Wetland Functional Design, Boca Raton. Lewis Publishing 1992.
Scheuler, Thomas, Design of Stormwater Wetland Systems: Guidelines for Creating Diverse and Effective Stormwater Wetland Systems in
the Mid-Atlantic Region. Center for Watershed Protection, Washington, DC 1992.
Shaver, Earl, R. Horner, J. Skupien, C May, Ridley G. Fundamentals of urban runoff management: technical and institutional issues.
2nd Ed. EPA/North American Lake Management Society: 2007
Snodgrass, Edmond C and Linda McIntyre, The Green Roof Manual: A Professional Guide to Design, Installation, and Maintenance.
Portland, OR: Timber Press 2010.
Soil and Water Conservation Society, (Elaine Ingham, A. Moldenke, C. Edwards). Soil Biology Primer. Download at:
www.groproorganics.com/SoilFoodWeb.html For print copy, order from
http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/concepts/soil_biology/biology.html
Strom. Steven, Nathan, Kurt and Woland, Jeremy. Site Engineering for Landscape Architects. 5th Ed, Hoboken, NJ: 2009
Texas Rainwater Board, Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting, Austin TX 2005
University of Arkansas Community Design Center. Low Impact Development: A Design Manual for Urban Areas. 2011
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center 2009 Biannual Report. Download at:
ciceet.unh.edu/news/releases/unhsc_report_2009/report.pdf
Urban, James. Up By Roots: Trees in the Urban Landscape. Champaign, Illinois: International Society of Arboriculture, 2008
Van Roon, Marjorie, and Henri van Roon. Low Impact Urban Design and Development: the big picture. An Introduction to the LIUDD
principles and methods framework. Available for download at: www.mwpress.co.nz/store/downloads/Science_Rep_LIUDD_optimised.pdf
Washington State Department of Ecology Stormwater Management Website and Manuals (with Appendix D-I)
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/manual.html and Building Soil Guidelines and Resources for Implementing Soil
Quality and Depth BMP T5.13 www.soilsforsalmon.org/pdf/Soil_BMP_Manual.pdf