Project Overview 

Vale of Glamorgan Council decided to install three Hydro Biofilter™ units from the Marshalls Civils and Drainage and Hydro International at the Business Service Centre (BSC) car park to meet Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) standards and provide urban planting and landscaping within the construction of a new car park.

Solution

The pioneering Hydro Biofilter™ system looks like a normal tree box from the surface with suitable shrubs or a tree protruding through a decorative grating in a typical concrete slab at pavement level. Underneath, a concrete container with a mulch layer and unique soil filter medium provide for effective and consistent stormwater treatment and attenuation. The Hydro BioCell™ is connected to a surface water drain, infiltration or soakaway system via an underdrain system.

The council decided to review the surface water drainage at the BSC Car Park when a previous design using porous paving was proving unsatisfactory. The Hydro Biofilter™ units have provided an attractive solution that was sympathetic to the need to improve the landscaping and amenity of the area.

Client Comments

“Features like swales and reedbeds were not feasible to introducing more biodiversity, as there was not enough room in this typical urban location which is surrounded by buildings and infrastructure,” says Vale of Glamorgan Drainage Engineer Keith Sulsh.

“The three Biofilter™ units enabled us to meet Environment Agency requirements for removing pollutants from stormwater runoff before discharge via the storm sewer into the adjacent docks. Hydro Biofilter™ combined several different SuDS features within one system, which was not met by any other solution the council looked at.”