Stormcell® is a low cost, underground storage system suitable for installation beneath roads, car parks and amenity areas and permits access for inspection. Stormcell® is installed utilising a pipework system which prevents the entry of silts and grits into the storage volume.

Virtually maintenance free and more effective than conventional systems, Stormcell® is a high capacity stormwater storage system which can be designed to suit shallow, deep or irregular site requirements.

The Stormcell® system demonstrates a major potential reduction in planned maintenance due to the perforated distribution pipes running beneath the storage tank. Any silts, grits or debris are washed through the pipework during the ‘first flush’ rather than into the tank. The system is therefore effectively maintenance-free. The only part of the system requiring periodic inspection is the distribution pipework which can be easily accessed from the manhole and jetted/rodded in the event of any obstruction.

A Stormcell® Installation

Stormcell® Lite is a lightweight storage system ideally suited towards installation beneath landscaped, non-trafficked areas.

Advantages

• Modular and flexible
• Lightweight
• High structural integrity – suitable for installation below roads, car park and amenity areas
• Patented silt prevention system when installed correctly
• Very quick and easy to install 

Stormcell® Lite Advantages

Advantages

• Modular and flexible.
• Lightweight.
• High structural integrity.
• Silt prevention system.
• Woven geotextile on the top and bottom of each block prevents intrusion of fines.
• Simple and quick to install - no assembly or connectors required.
• Shallow 120 mm deep blocks available.

In the early stages of a storm event the flow passes through the system unrestricted.  The distribution pipework below the Stormcell® blocks are part of the stormwater network and carry suspended particles and debris directly through the system.  Each Stormcell® block has a woven geotextile layer on the top and bottom as a secondary defence against the intrusion of fines.

As flow increases during heavier storm events Hydro International’s Hydro-Brake Optimum® flow control restricts the outflow, forcing excess water through the perforations in the distribution pipework and into the granular layer and Stormcell® blocks.  At the end of a storm event the stored water drains back through the granular layer, into the perforated pipework and on through the control manhole.
 

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is Stormcell®?

Stormcell® is an extremely strong plastic honeycomb structure of 95% void ratio. It can be used within a surface water pipe system to provide a rainwater storage medium during storm events.

Q. Can Stormcell® be used below roads or car-parking areas?

Yes, it can. The structure is extremely strong but is designed to take distributed loads and not point loads. The depth that the Stormcell® is buried at dictates the maximum load that can be applied to it at surface level.

Q. What maintenance is required for a Stormcell® system?

The system that the Stormcell® blocks are used within is carefully designed to minimise any maintenance requirements. It is a patented system and consequently cannot be copied by our competitors.  Low flows are carried within small diameter perforated pipes running beneath the blocks.  This keeps grits and silts moving within the pipes and remote from the Stormcell® blocks.  In times of storm water egresses from the perforations which are positioned within the top of the pipes but this is relatively free from grits and silts.  There are additional barriers to contamination of the blocks in the form of a layer of single size stone and a permeable membrane covering the tops and bottoms of the blocks.  Ideally, a Downstream Defender® hydrodynamic separator is also used upstream of the storage tank in order to remove the majority of grits and silts upstream of the system, thus providing an even greater buffer to any problems occurring.

Q. What size are the blocks?

The standard block size is 2400 mm (length) x 1200 mm (breadth) x 520 mm (depth). They are also available as panels of depth 120 mm. The blocks can be cut on site should this prove necessary.

Q. How many perforated pipes are required?

The perforations must be of sufficient capacity to allow the peak flow to pass through them at an acceptable head of water upstream.  Quite simply, we must be able to get the water to be stored out of the pipes and into the Stormcell® storage tank.  The head of water required to pass this flow rate through the perforations must be able to be contained within the upstream pipe system. In other words, water should not egress from the underground system until the storage tank is full.