What is Stormwater?
Stormwater is the precipitation from a rainfall event or as a result of melting snow.

Why do we need to control Stormwater?
In undeveloped areas, rainwater is unrestricted and may be absorbed directly into the ground on which it falls. When an area is developed, buildings and parking areas overcome the natural absorption area where the rain would normally be infiltrated back into the ground. These impervious structures offset the typical absorption pattern. As a result, when the rain is not allowed to penetrate it begins to build up, may cause ponding or flooding and/or begins to flow to another location.

• Road flooding: accidents, washouts, driver delays.
• Building & property flooding: structural & property damage, sewer backup, foundation settlement, devalued properties.
• Environmental damage.
• Utility service interruptions.
• Increased clean-up costs, health hazards, personal inconvenience, increased insurance costs.

Past Solutions for Controlling Stormwater

• Concrete, Steel and HDPE pipe
• Concrete structures
• Swales and ponds

Disadvantages:

• Heavy
• Don’t ship or stockpile well
• Require heavy equipment and manpower
• Labor Intensive
• Loss of valuable land

CULTEC’s Stormwater Management System Solution

By using CULTEC chambers, rainwater is collected in inlet structures and piped to an underground retention/detention system.

CULTEC Contactor® and Recharger® chambers may be used as underground retention/detention systems, as replacements for ponds, concrete structures or pipe and stone installations. CULTEC provides a complete stormwater management plan consisting of filtration, conveyance, storage and infiltration. CULTEC’s Stormwater Systems meet the regulations of EPA’s Phase II of the Clean Water Act and are approved by IAPMO Research and Testing, Inc.

Advantages:

• Allows for more controlled infiltration into the ground.
• Replenishes the surrounding soil and aquifer.
• Decreases health liability issues such as West Niles breeding grounds for mosquitoes, or drowning.
• Avoids redirecting stormwater to a watercourse and potentially overloading or polluting our natural surroundings and resources.
• Frees up land for further development such as athletic fields or parking areas.
• CULTEC chambers effectively serve environmentally sensitive areas while making valuable land available for parking lots, athletic fields and other applications.
• The high capacity, open bottom chambers provide greater storage and much higher infiltrative capability than conventional pipe and stone systems.
• As a replacement for retention ponds, CULTEC chambers alleviate insurance concerns and loss of valuable land area.
• Less area and less crushed stone are required compared to conventional systems.

COMMERCIAL: The placement of CULTEC stormwater management systems beneath parking areas allows for further site development without sacrificing land area. Retail development is directly related to the number of parking spaces available. Subsurface installations maximize land use and capability of additional parking spaces. 

The CULTEC Complete Stormwater Management System:

CULTEC provides a complete stormwater management plan consisting of filtration, conveyance, storage and infiltration. CULTEC’s Stormwater Systems meet the regulations of EPA’s Phase II of the Clean Water Act.

CULTEC, Inc. is the manufacturer of CULTEC Contactor® and Recharger® Plastic Stormwater Detention/Retention Chambers, CULTEC HVLV™ Header Systems and CULTEC Stormfilter® Water Quality Filtration Chambers.

Each of the products listed below may be used in conjunction with each other to provide a BMP manner of subsurface stormwater management in accordance to Phase II of the federally mandated Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act mandates that a certain percentage of stormwater run-off be contained and treated on-site. This means that developers and homeowners need to capture and contain a degree of stormwater run-off that is shed by their impervious structures such as buildings and parking areas. Infiltration has been proven to be the leader in the removal of phosphorous, nitrogen, lead, zinc, suspended solids and organic carbon when compared to wetlands, water quality ponds, filtering systems and water quality swales.

Systems may be installed quickly and easily using a patented overlapping rib connection unique to CULTEC chambers. They require less stone and area than most pipe systems. They allow land to be use for other purposes such as parking. They are lightweight, yet they can withstand AASHTO H20 designation.

Water enters from a collective device, typically from a catch basin inlet structure; it then passes through our CULTEC Stormfilter® Water Quality Filtration Chamber to remove silt, fines and debris. The stormwater is then conveyed from the CULTEC Stormfilter® by our CULTEC HVLV™ Header System and directed into the CULTEC Recharger® Chambers for storage until it can infiltrate back into the ground.

RESIDENTIAL: CULTEC Chamber systems control roof and driveway run-off thereby eliminating ponding and allowing for alternative land usage such as for a swimming pool or tennis court while meeting EPA stormwater management regulations. 

 

 Septic Systems

A septic system achieves sewage treatment and disposal for rural homes where centralized sewage systems may not be available. It is composed of a septic tank and a drain field. The sewage flows from the house to the septic tank where the solids are removed; the wastewater then flows to the drainfield where it is allowed to soak into the ground.

The drainfield (leachfield, disposal trench or subsurface disposal field) is an underground piping network buried below the surface of the ground. The field distributes the effluent from the septic tank over a large area allowing it to percolate through the soil.

Conventional drainfields have used perforated pipe and stone systems or concrete galleries to distribute the effluent. CULTEC’s Contactor and Recharger plastic chambers may be used in place of these conventional systems for more effective installation.

Each state (and sometimes county or local municipality) has written septic regulations and guidelines which outline the square footage sizing required for a given septic leachfield.
Our plastic septic chambers have been widely accepted in most parts of the United States for gravel-less septic leachfields as replacements for concrete galleries and conventional pipe and stone systems. Contact area is maximized by the fully open bottoms, perforated sidewalls, and use of CULTEC No. 410 Filter Fabric. The CULTEC No. 410 Filter Fabric works as a sponge wetting the entire surface area of the chambers and prevents soil intrusion. Units may be configured in trench or bed installations using gravity feed or pressure distribution according to acceptance by local regulations. Due to their greater contact area, CULTEC chambers are commonly allowed to reduce the overall system sizing requirements up to 50% when approved by the local authority.
This sizing reduction may be a key factor when choosing septic products for a residence with tight site constraints, existing landscaping or when area is desired for other structures such as a swimming pool.

System benefits include:

• Less land area required
• Greater contact with primary leaching area promotes maximum infiltration capabilities
• Lightweight
• Gravel-less installation allows for less heavy equipment time
• Patented overlapping rib connection is fast and easy to install
• Repeating support panel adds to strength of installation
• Long structural life expectancy
• Able to transport in a pick up truck
• Approved by IAPMO

Typical Gravel-less Septic System Installation using CULTEC Chamber
Shows CULTEC No. 410 filter fabric on top of chamber. Pipe is installed 6" into chamber endwall.

Typical Gravel Septic System Installation using CULTEC Chamber
Shows gravel surrounding chamber and CULTEC No. 410 filter fabric on top. Pipe is installed 6" into chamber endwall.