9/27/2016

Stormwater Management

• Uninfiltrated, unevaporated, unabsorbed

water from rain events and snow/ice melt

• A needed ‘natural resource’ that may, at the

same time, be a source of pollution and
ecologic change

Problems Associated with Stormwater

• Flooding
– Property damage
– Loss of life
• Water pollution
– Erosion
– Sedimentation
– Nutrients from fertilizers
– Pesticides
– Oil and grease
– Organics
– Biologicals – bacteria
• Infrastructure costs
including maintenance

Causes
• A naturally-occurring phenomenon
• Altered by development, industry, agriculture
– Exposure of soil normally less exposed due to
vegetation

– Impervious surfaces

– Anthropogenic substances

1
 9/27/2016

Effects Of Land Development

• Natural spaces converted to less impervious surfaces…
– Infiltration decreases, runoff volume increases
• …Stormwater spends less time in the watershed…
– Less overland flow
– More time in drainage channels
• …Therefore faster flow to the outlet
– Increases in peak rate and total volume from a given storm
– Increases in soil erosion and fine particulate movement
during land clearing and construction
– Increases in bank erosion – streams become wide and
shallow
– Increases ease at which land-based pollutants enter
drainage

Solutions
Design of stormwater collection and control – estimating
storm runoff

• Any management strategy cannot be designed and

constructed without knowledge of expected flow, in
particular peak flow, from storms of specific frequencies
and durations
– this will determine the volume of water that must be
managed within a given period of time

• Note also that evaporation and infiltration affect run off;

temperature, humidity, and soil type will influence these

“Old School” Solutions

Shifts the problem downstream and creates new problems including

physical changes that impact aquatic ecology

2
 9/27/2016

Storm Sewer Systems

“Newer” separate storm sewers
• exclude sanitary or industrial wastewaters:
“nothing but stormwater”
• Are designed based on recurrence intervals for
storms of estimated intensity and duration
– subject to error
– in actuality, do surcharge on occasion and cause
local flooding
• A network of inlets and pipes

Storm Sewer Systems

The Combined Sewer Problem
• CSOs prevent sewer back ups into homes and
businesses
• Water Quality Standards not being met
• Federal mandates leading to increased costs
for consumers
• NEORSD undertaking major projects

Modern Solutions
Municipal Stormwater Best Management Practices
(BMPs)
• Preventative (non-structural) measures
– Source reduction practices like:
• land management practices – reduce volume of runoff and
pollutants contained within
• debris removal
• landscaping and lawn management
• vegetated swales
• pervious soil buffers
– may not be enough to meet water quality goals

3
 9/27/2016

Example Preventative BMPs

• From the NPDES requirements for Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s)
• BMPs Required for NPDES permit holders
– Public Education/Outreach and
Participation/Involvement
– Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE)
– Construction Site Runoff Control
– Post-Construction Runoff Control
– Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping

Written Into Permits and Building

Codes
Silt Fencing

Downslope -
drainageways and
streams protected

Buried and then

maintained during
construction

Modern Solutions
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
• Control (structural) measures
– Temporary storage of water on site
– Small reservoirs and basins – becoming requirement in building plans for new
developments
• Control short, intense local storms
• Reduce peak runoff
• Reduce severity and frequency of flooding
• Reduce soil erosion and stream sedimentation
• Protect surface water quality
• Recharge aquifer

– Problems
• Maintenance
• Clogging
• Expense of construction
• Debris accumulation
• Vermin and weeds
• Cost
• Public safety

4
 9/27/2016

Retention Basin

Detention Basin

5
 9/27/2016

Very Localized Control

Rain gardens

Very Localized Control

Green Roof

Very Localized Control

Stormwater Curb Extension

6
 9/27/2016

Control Over Stormwater Quality

• Sedimentation Basin

Vegetated Swales

Bioretention

7
 9/27/2016

Treatment Wetlands

Effective Control
• Link multiple BMPs to create “pollutant
removal train”
– not unlike the combination of other treatment
technologies for wastewater and air

• Put together the non-structural and structural

measures to reduce stormwater pollution and
flow issues

Floodplain Management
• restrict or prohibit certain types of construction
or activities in the floodplain
– buildings
– landfills
– on-site sewage disposal
• or construct expensive and sometimes expansive
structures like dams, reservoirs, levees, and dikes
– give a false sense of security and make encourage
development in areas that should not be developed