Rainwater Management in Raleigh, North Carolina: Whole Foods / Colonade Shopping Center Project
Innovative Stormwater Management Plan at LEED Silver Development
In March 2011 construction on the award-winning Market at Colonnade project in Raleigh, North Carolina was completed. Encompassing 6.25 acres of previously undeveloped land, Colonnade has 57,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a 40,000 square foot Whole Foods Market.
Cisterns Collect Rooftop Runoff
The Colonnade project is reportedly unlike any other within the State of North Carolina with regard to its approach to stormwater management. The Innovative Stormwater Management Plan (ISMP) includes three cisterns which collect rooftop runoff. These, in conjunction with a subsurface gravel and pipe trench system detain the first one-inch of runoff which is then infiltrated into the underlying soils.
All surface runoff from the site in excess of the one-inch storm is similarly captured, pretreated (removing oil, sediment and debris), and temporarily stored in an underground detention chamber.
Harvested rainwater from the Whole Foods’ roof is stored in the cistern (pictured above) and reused inside the store for toilet flushing while additional rainwater stored in two underground cisterns is used for site landscape irrigation needs.
A Benchmark for Environmentally Responsible Development
“Market at Colonnade has set a new benchmark for environmentally responsible 
development of retail shopping centers in North Carolina. We would not have achieved this level of design without extensive public-private collaboration on Regency’s stormwater management system. By leveraging this collaboration, Regency is able to reduce its impact on the environment and improve water quality which will benefit our community for decades,” said Regency Center’s Vice President of Investments Chris Widmayer.
Regency Centers is a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers,
To Learn More:
To read the complete story published in Engineering & Design in September 2011, click on Market at Colonnade Innovative Stormwater Management Plan