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BMP Sizing

BMP sizing converts the governing source standards into actual storage, flow-control, infiltration, and maintenance-ready dimensions. In the live source set, the sizing step has to keep water-quality, recharge, runoff-quantity, and 2026 volumetric-reduction checks separate instead of collapsing them into one shortcut formula.

Structured citation evidence for this page lives in the sibling claim manifest.

Core Sizing Inputs

The current source-backed workflow uses four distinct inputs:

  • the Water Quality Design Storm for runoff-quality sizing
  • the recharge standard where infiltration into subsoil is part of the design
  • the runoff-quantity standard for peak-rate control
  • the volumetric-reduction standard in the 2026 rule set where GI retention is being used

That separation matters. A BMP can satisfy one standard without automatically satisfying the others.

Source-Backed Sizing Checks

At the page level, the stable checks are:

  1. Confirm the runoff-quality target using the Water Quality Design Storm.
  2. Check recharge and infiltration assumptions against Chapter 12 design permeability and the Chapter 13 hydraulic-impact framework.
  3. Evaluate runoff-quantity control against the governing design storms and peak-rate benchmarks.
  4. For 2026 projects using the retention pathway, calculate and document volumetric reduction as its own demonstration.

Sizing Output Matrix

Sizing lane Typical output
Runoff quality Storage, flow path, and treatment sizing tied to the WQDS
Recharge / infiltration Design permeability, separation, and hydraulic-impact-supported infiltration dimensions
Runoff quantity Storage and outlet-control dimensions for the selected quantity path
Volumetric reduction Retained WQDS volume and any residual that must be addressed elsewhere

Why This Step Cannot Be Shortcutted

The older narrative pages tended to flatten sizing into a single worksheet idea. The live source set does not support that shortcut. The governing rule and manual chapters keep the standards distinct, which means:

  • infiltration credit depends on the site investigation record, not just the preferred BMP type
  • runoff-quality sizing does not by itself resolve runoff-quantity control
  • runoff-quantity control does not replace the separate 2026 volumetric-reduction showing
  • treatment-train decisions often remain necessary when one BMP does not satisfy every standard

That is the practical point of this stage: it converts the standards into dimensions and controls that can actually be reviewed, built, and maintained.