Reclaimed stormwater in the urban environment, a design for an urban integrated water-use facility

• Main Author: Derksen, Michael Cornelius
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/1078

Winnipeg, like most North American cities, employs a stormwater conveyance system to remove surface runoff. It also imports potable water for use in a variety of capacities, some of which do not require potable-quality water. The potential exists for the use of runoff as a potential source for, or subsidization of, potable water supplies for specific activities. The project attempts to demonstrate the following design proposition: that urban run-off can be collected, treated, and used on site, and that this can be accomplished to the benefit of the residents of the site. This proposition is tested on a specific site in the core area of the City of Winnipeg. In support of this proposition, the project examines the historical emergence and application of urban water systems, their linear nature, and the difficulty encountered in incorporating additive water uses to these systems. The ways that additive uses to runoff can be incorporated are examined, and the forms that emerge as a result of incorporating these uses on-site, termed 'circular' systems, are discussed. The requirements of this function on-site include collection and treatment processes. It is asserted that these circular systems, and the processes that accompany them, contribute additional influences to the structural expression of the city, as seen in the design resolution. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)