Market
Flood defense. RSP Engineers design stormwater drainage systems, pipelines and pump stations to protect communities and property.
We design stormwater infrastructure to protect communities, properties, and natural habitats from heavy rainfall and flooding. We specialize in large-scale drainage systems, high-capacity pipelines, pump stations, and conveyance channels. In an era of more frequent and intense storms, we partner with public agencies to build resilient, reliable,e and effective stormwater solutions.
Our team can manage massive volumes of stormwater safely and efficiently. We address critical stormwater needs:
In low-lying and urban areas, pump stations are the first line of defense against flooding. We design robust stormwater pump stations that are reliable and can handle large volumes of water, often with significant debris. Our designs include durable pumps, redundant backup power and automated controls that activate when needed most.
We provide the core engineering for the networks that collect and convey stormwater runoff. This includes the design of large diameter storm sewers, reinforced concrete box culverts and open channels. We focus on creating systems that can handle peak flows from major storm events, preventing street flooding and property damage.
We use advanced H&H modeling to simulate rainfall events, analyze watershed characteristics and predict runoff volumes and flow rates. This data-driven approach allows us to precisely design and size stormwater pipelines, channels and pump stations to perform during 25, 50 and 100-year storm events.
Our expertise extends to comprehensive flood control solutions for urban environments. We design integrated systems that often combine traditional pipelines and pump stations with detention and retention basins, underground storage vaults and other measures to manage and control stormwater runoff.
Stormwater projects are highly regulated. We take care of the permitting process, including NPDES permits for construction and post-construction discharges.
We handle site development permits and collaborate with local authorities to secure zoning changes, special use permits, and site plan approvals for mission-critical facilities. Our experience with city/municipal and county governments across the country means a smooth and efficient process.
We work with local flood control districts, state agencies, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to get all designs approved for our clients and the water. Get in touch with us today!
Case study· Engineering for Stormwater Management
Frisco, Texas
An occupied senior living campus in Frisco had drainage that no longer performed as designed. RSP assessed existing conditions, researched the permit record, modelled the stormwater system and designed a collection and regrading scheme approved for construction by the City of Frisco.
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Case study· Engineering for Stormwater Management
Fort Bend County, Texas
An established residential community in Fort Bend County had drainage its existing system was not resolving. RSP assessed conditions, researched permits, modelled the system and designed two trapezoidal channels and a collector pipe working back from a fixed tie-in invert, approved for construction by Fort Bend County.
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Case study· Engineering Robust Industrial Solutions
Medley, Florida
A seven-acre industrial site in Medley was entirely impervious before redevelopment. The stormwater design cut impervious cover to 87.7 per cent, created a 0.447-acre retention area and more than quadrupled underground detention, and was approved by the Town of Medley, Miami-Dade County and Miami-Dade DERM.
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Case study· Engineering Robust Industrial Solutions
Palmetto, Florida
A 1.47-acre industrial infill site in Palmetto was developed as a mobile batch concrete yard with a service shop. Stormwater is held in 1,418 feet of exfiltration trench under the yard rather than in a pond, and the project carries both Manatee County final site plan approval and a Florida DEP permit for its wastewater system.
Read case study →Drainage system design - conveyance, storage and discharge - with the hydrologic and hydraulic modelling behind it, and pump stations where gravity discharge is not available.
Site development permits plus NPDES permits for construction and post-construction discharges, and the approvals of whatever drainage authority controls the receiving system. Stormwater work is among the more heavily regulated site disciplines.
Where the site or system cannot discharge by gravity - typically low-lying areas, or where the receiving system backs up in a storm. That tailwater condition is checked early because it changes the whole approach.
Against a defined standard, and tested against it. The design storm, the receiving system's behaviour and the consequences of exceeding it are established first, because they set the capacity the system has to carry.
The area or system, the flooding history if there is one, the receiving system and its owner, and any existing drainage records or modelling.