Rainfall to Results: Creating a Better Stormwater Future

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Scott Taylor

Project Director, San Diego, California, USA contact form+1 760 650 5397

In 2007, Garrett Lisi, a theoretical physicist who split his time between surfing and teaching in Maui, wrote “An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything,” a technical paper in which he attempted to provide a comprehensive theory that fully explains all aspects of the universe using general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Unfortunately, a suitable analog does not presently exist for stormwater quality. We remain in the nascent stages of solving the stormwater quality problem, with many approaches still focused on eliminating contaminants before they can mix with runoff and attempting to strain them out at the end of the pipe. More recently, leveraging green infrastructure has become a popular tool, appealing since it is nature based and modestly compatible with urbanization.

It also doesn’t help that America’s stormwater management sector is decentralized. For maximum effectiveness, runoff-control infrastructure has to span entire watersheds and many times crosses jurisdictional boundaries. This prompts questions concerning who is responsible for building infrastructure and maintaining it. In addition, an always expanding collection of designs and approaches complicates efforts to establish best practices, and communities frequently must make important stormwater management decisions using incomplete information.

To achieve greater success in stormwater management, a nationwide strategy is necessary, and all aspects of stormwater programs must be examined and improved or eliminated in favor of new or significantly refined approaches.

In July, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) published “2023 Rainfall to Results: The Future of Stormwater,” a report authored by stormwater professionals that provides a vision for the future of the industry by highlighting seven critical areas for making stormwater systems more effective, efficient and sustainable. They include:

Working at the watershed scale
Transforming stormwater governance
Managing and maintaining stormwater assets
Continuing to close the funding gap
Engaging the community
Planning for stormwater resilience

These areas represent the primary challenges for stormwater management programs in the United States, and the report addresses how key advancements, such as the increased adoption of digital twins, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies, can help solve them. It also recommends promoting interjurisdictional and interdisciplinary cooperation along with establishing industry-wide, universally relevant priorities to guide future action.

According to the report, stormwater is the only growing source of water pollution in many areas of North America. To help reduce stormwater pollution in the United States, our team is currently working with WEF and the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) to improve the performance of municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) programs across the country and reduce their implementation cost. We’re also helping ensure stormwater resources are applied for maximum benefit to the environment and the public.