Strategies for successful performance: apply appropriate engineering principles in design of underground plastic stormwater collection structures [stormwater chambers]

Use of underground stormwater collection systems has increased in recent years because of regulatory mandates to retain, recharge, and/or reuse stormwater onsite. Because of advantages in economics and constructability, the stormwater industry has seen significant growth in the number of available products manufactured from structural plastics. Many of these new, innovative designs offer benefits such as light weight, high corrosion resistance, large storage-to-footprint ratios, and moldability of efficient structural shapes.|However, recent catastrophic failures of some systems have raised concern about the long-term viability of these structures and focused attention on the engineering rigor behind the design of certain products. Successful structural performance of plastic stormwater collection structures requires understanding and applying engineering principles specific to the behavior of structural plastic materials.

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