The Enclave at Victoria Hills (Ingersoll) – Rain Gardens and Bioswales

Rain Gardens and Bioswales in a new residential condo development in Ingersoll

The Enclave at Victoria Hills is a condo community with 41 townhomes on the west side of Ingersoll on 1.26 hectares of land, built in 2017. Dillon Consulting Ltd. was retained to design the stormwater management plan at the time of building. The original plan consisted of a conventional storm sewer system with a stormwater management pond; however, the UTRCA proposed an alternative LID solution consisting of a series of bioswales and rain gardens around the perimeter of the site.

Dillon completed the new design to allow stormwater runoff to move through the bioswales and rain gardens where it is retained before infiltrating the soil. A perforated drain under the rain gardens moves stormwater that has been filtered by the plants and soil into the next rain garden.

At the two largest rain gardens along Ingersoll Street, any water in the underdrain flows at a controlled rate into the municipal stormwater system. This flow remains the same as or less than it was before development.

By undertaking the LID project instead of a conventional storm sewer system, the developer, Warren Sinclair Homes, achieved a cost saving of approximately 41% for their stormwater management. In addition, removing the stormwater management pond created enough space to allow for the construction of two additional townhome units.

The rain gardens were planted with a mix of drought tolerant native and ornamental plants, including: