REINVENTING THE TRADITIONAL VEGETATED ROOF FOR RAINWATER DETENTION: “A detention layer in vegetated roof systems helps manage the excess rainwater runoff onsite by mimicking friction found in watersheds and aquifers,” states Sasha Aguilera in an informative reference on green roof concepts and technologies
“Put simply: the modern vegetated roof is designed to drain extremely fast. That is not to say no one has considered alternatives,” states Sasha Aguilera. “Slowing down water to create detention has been tried in vegetated roofs, albeit with mixed success. There are a few examples of great success, but replicability and widespread adoption have been difficult to achieve. This is unsurprising, since creating detention in a thin vegetated system is challenging. However, innovations are changing that equation.”