The Stormwater Report

A record-breaking accumulation of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains is melting steadily as temperatures continue to warm and the thaw continues. That’s both good and bad news for Nevadans — while snowmelt represents one of the most reliable sources of drinking water for the dry West, this year it could bring up to 2.5 […]

A new partnership, Naturally Resilient Communities (NRC), argues that a simpler, more cost-efficient way to stave off flooding, manage water quality, and even harvest stormwater for reuse, is to complement technology with nature. “From weather-related disasters and public health crises to needs for economic development, the demands on our communities’ limited resources are growing,” said […]

Occupying less than 81 ha (200 ac) between the White River and a canal on the northwestern edge of Indianapolis, flood protection is a serious matter for the small town of Rocky Ripple (Ind.). Lacking any infrastructure of its own to contain overflow from the river, the town’s less-than-700 residents routinely pay thousands of dollars […]

On Jan. 11, 2017, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner sent in SWAT to solve long-standing drainage problems across the city. But instead of carrying out high-stakes military operations, this SWAT — the cleverly named Storm Water Action Team — will commence work on approximately 100 deferred projects focused on maintaining and upgrading Houston’s aging flood management […]

Faced with predictions from the U.K. government’s recent National Flood Resilience Review to expect 20% to 30% more intense rainfall due to climate change in coming years, the bipartisan Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee of Parliament last month released a report calling for a complete overhaul of how the country approaches its vulnerability to […]

If trends toward warmer climates continue at the same pace that they have during the last few decades, the U.S. could see extreme rainfall events up to four times more frequently by the end of the 21st century, a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR; Boulder, Colo.) finds. These storms could […]

After a 20-cm (8-in.) rainstorm — more than an average month’s worth of rain for the area — led to rampant flooding across central and southern Minnesota on the night of Aug. 11, the problem of managing stormwater came to the forefront of public attention and hit the airwaves on public radio. Identifying the problem […]

In direct response to a call by the Obama administration for innovations in the conservation of domestic waterways earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partners on Aug. 16 unveiled a comprehensive forecasting model to predict the movement of rivers and streams across the continental U.S. The National Water Model […]

In early 2013, Cyclone Oswald tore through huge swathes of eastern Australia, causing some $2.5 billion (AUD) in damage across Queensland and New South Wales. The torrent deposited more than 1.8 million Mg (2 million ton) of agricultural contaminants, sediments, and nutrients into the Moreton Bay, highlighting a critical need for increased flood protection in […]

Embracing the concept of green stormwater infrastructure management, the city of Palo Alto, Calif., hopes to undertake a massive effort to revamp its crumbling storm drain system. The decision will go beyond simply more pumps and collection lines to encompass an entirely different way of viewing stormwater. Palo Alto Department of Public Works (DPW) officials […]