Comparison of Water Quantity Management Performance of Two Stormwater Management Technologies in the City of Toronto: A Case Study of the Cupolex® System

This study evaluates and compares the hydrologic performance of a new street-level low impact development system called Cupolex®, an arcade of concrete-covered plastic domes stormwater detention system, to permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) along a retrofitted laneway in Toronto, Canada. A monitoring protocol and stormwater modelling guideline was developed for the research. The results revealed a % runoff depth and peak runoff rate reductions between 90.6% to 100%, and 94% to 100% respectively for Cupolex®. The results for PICP revealed a % runoff depth and peak runoff rate reductions between 35% to 67%, and 4% to 85% respectively. The performance for PICP may be attributed to the low permeability soil conditions and design features. Overall, Cupolex® performed significantly better than PICP under the events observed and provides a baseline understanding of its performance for future implementation. Further research should focus on long-term monitoring and further development of stormwater management models for performance prediction under different design conditions.