CASE STUDY 28 — Aldine Westfield Office Warehouse Office Warehouse | Civil Engineering Design

PROJECT OVERVIEW

JRH Engineering provided complete civil engineering design for a new office warehouse on a space-constrained site in Harris County, Texas, served by a MUD district. The challenge was maximizing rentable square footage while meeting drainage requirements with minimal pond footprint. JRH engineered a backfill detention system — using the site itself as the detention basin by placing a restrictor at the front — eliminating the need for a dedicated pond and preserving maximum rentable area.

AT A GLANCE

Site Civil & Drainage Design

● Full site civil design for office warehouse including grading, paving, access, and building pad

● Backfill detention system engineered — restrictor placed at the front of the property, allowing the site itself to serve as the detention basin during storm events

● No dedicated detention pond designed or constructed — entire site footprint available for building and operations

● MUD water and sanitary connections coordinated concurrently with Harris County drainage permitting

Permitting & Agency Coordination

● Harris County drainage permit secured through backfill detention approach

● MUD utility connection coordinated in parallel with county permitting

● Backfill system documentation provided complete engineering calculations to Harris County

THE CHALLENGE

Office warehouse developers need every square foot they can get. A dedicated detention pond on a space-constrained site consumes land that should be generating lease revenue. The challenge was finding a drainage solution that met Harris County requirements without sacrificing buildable area.

JRH's Approach

A backfill detention system works by placing a flow restrictor at the site's outfall point — during heavy rain, stormwater temporarily backs up across the site's paved surface, using the site itself as the storage volume rather than a dedicated pond. JRH engineered the restrictor sizing, calculated the storage volume available from the site's paved area, and confirmed it met Harris County's detention requirements. The pond was eliminated. The site footprint was preserved.

The Result

A fully permitted office warehouse with no dedicated detention pond — maximum rentable area achieved through a creative drainage engineering approach.

RESULTS

● Dedicated detention pond eliminated — backfill system used site paved area as detention storage

● Maximum rentable square footage preserved on a space-constrained Harris County site

● MUD utility and Harris County drainage approvals coordinated simultaneously