Month: January 2012

On January 19, 2012, we first met our client, Dean Gregory. We had an introduction tour of the Agricultural Road Walkway led by our client,  Dean Gregory. The renewal construction of Agricultural Road was finished by the end of 2011, using a sustainable design of irrigation and stormwater systems. The concept of bioswales was implemented to trap pollutants from the surface water. In addition, a redesign of the vegetation plan was implemented in order to  maximize the use of stormwater.

After having the basic sustainable concept of the new Agricultural Road, we could clearly determine all the tasks of this project and assign each of our group members to implement the various sections under the Sustainable Sites Initiatives – Water section and combine the work into a completed document at the end.

On January 24, 2012, we had a group meeting focusing on creating a work schedule and project plan. Under the Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks, there are eight credits that are given for evaluation. According to the SSI, the Agricultural Road projects can only be evaluated under six of the eight criterion:

1. The calculation of reduction on using potable water for irrigation by 50%. The Agricultural Road has to satisfy the criteria of at least 50% of reduction of using potable water to be evaluated as a sustainable site. (Ming)
2. The calculation of reduction on using potable water for irrigation by 75%. (Ming)
3. The  analysis of the management of stormwater on the site. We will use TR55 software to simulate the water ecosystem and check whether the water storage capacity is improved to a sustainable level by the new design of the road. (Ron)
4. The analysis on protection and enhancement of water resources and water quality, involving the construction material, site maintenance plan and stormwater treatment. A calculation about the percentage of pollutants is prevented to get into the receiving water flow is needed for the credits of sustainability. (Salman)
5. The analysis on the features of new water system. By looking at the design of the site, we need to evaluate the integration of the path of the  water system according to its physically and aesthetically. (Terence)
6. The analysis about maintaining water features to conserve water and other resources, calculating the amount of potable water is used additionally for the irrigation and water system. (Jeremy)

Credits will be given from each part based on the comparison of the criteria and practical situation. Then, all the credits will be added together to obtain the final evaluation of the site.

Therefore, we implemented a project plan assigning each person specific sections of the SSI-Water to complete. Ming, Ron, Salman, Terence, and Jeremy will work on the SSI criterion as labelled above and Iris will follow up the whole process and help out on all the parts.

Also, we made work schedule to make sure the project can be finished on time. There less than three weeks until the due date of the project.

1. On the following week, we will start collecting all the necessary data and discussing the limitations of the evaluation.
2. The weeks following, we will do the analysis and calculations based on the data we had and assign the corresponding credits for each part. We will then combine all the documents together and revise our final report.

Feel free to contact us at ssi.agrd.walkway@gmail.com for further inquiries.

UBC Agricultural Roadway Group

The Agricultural Road Walkway Project is about evaluating the hydrotechnical site at Agricultural Road, University of British Columbia by using the Sustainable Sites Initiative Criteria. The project started on January 16, 2012, and will be finished by February 27, 2012. The hydrotechnical system assessment and plan of improvement about the Agricultural Road Walkway will be provided to UBC Planning at the end of the project.

Agricultural Road Walkway Site Plan

Our team will start the project by investigating  the hydrotechnical performance of the Agricultural Road Walkway, including landscape irrigation system, planting plan, stormwater management, and construction material for controlling pollutants. After  site investigation, we will discuss the sustainability of the Agricultural Road Walkway based on the Sustainable Sites Initiative Rating System and develop a remediation plan for the site. The remediation plan will focus on protecting water resources, enhancing water quality, minimizing stormwater pollutants, and developing sustainable site maintenance and stormwater treatment plan. Throughout the next five weeks, a weekly activities summary of the project’s development will be updated until the completion of the project.

Site Visit on January 19, 2012

The project team consists of six 2nd year civil engineering students, Muhammad Salman Arshad, Ming Jin, Ron Qiu, Jeremy Lee, Terence Tsang, and Iris Feng.

Muhammad Salman Arshad is the leader of the team. He will plan the schedule and manage the process of the project to make sure the project will be accomplished on time.

Ming Jin is the client liaison. He will contact the client, Dean Gregory, inquiring further information of site design details and reporting the progress of the project.

Ron Qiu is the mentor liaison. He will contact the mentor, Fatehjit Singh, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, seeking further technical assistance for the project and scheduling necessary meetings with the mentor.

Jeremy Lee is the secretary. He will record all the decisions made and plans determined during the team meetings and organize  the meeting agenda for keeping record of the project.

Terence Tsang is the document collector. He will organize all the documents and drawings our team produce during the project and assemble them into a report at the end.

Iris Feng is the blogger. She will keep recording the team activities and achievements weekly for showing the progress of the project to the client and mentor.

Feel free to contact us at ssi.agrd.walkway@gmail.com for further inquiries.

UBC Agricultural Roadway Group