Storm Water Management
More than 80% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas as classified by the Census Bureau. More than 90% of the 44 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. are situated within five miles of a major water body. Future projections indicate continued urban growth and accelerated concentration in close proximity to water bodies, especially coastal environments. The trend of urbanization and proximity to water in the 21st Century presents a challenge to urban stormwater management professionals charged with flood control, water quality management, and ecological protection. Further compounding this challenge is the prospect of climate variability and climate change, which in some areas may impact precipitation frequency and magnitudes leading to altered stormwater runoff characteristics.
The stormwater management profession continues to evolve to meet these and other future challenges. Professional organizations including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) continue to lead efforts to advance methods, technologies, design guidance, and technology transfer. The updated WEF/ASCE Manual of Practice for Urban Stormwater Quality Management (WEF/ASCE 1998) is being prepared and will be released in January, 2009. The ASCE Urban Water Researces Reserarch Council has established a low-impact development (LID) committee, featuring new technical committee’s focused on emerging stormwater managmeent issues including permeable pavement, rainwater harvesting, and roof gardens. There is national interest in furthering the advancement of current stormwater management techniques.
The goal of stormwater management has changed from flood control in the nineteenth century to the current goal of achieving multiple objectives including flood control, water quality management, ecological protection, and in general sustainable integrated urban water management. Under the flood control paradigm, engineers designed stormwater management systems to remove surface runoff from the urban area as expeditiously as possible. When the downstream ramifications of this approach became apparent (flooding downstream) engineers turned to detention to reduce peak discharges. When water quality became a concern engineers developed a number of strategies including source controls and end-of-pipe treatment. The detention basin continued to serve as the primary control measure serving a useful purpose for peak control and, if designed properly, water quality control. Today a range of stormwater management options are available to planners and engineers responsible for municipal stormwater management.
Stormwater management planning is necessary to control stormwater discharges from construction sites, industrial areas, and municipalities.
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