According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF; Annapolis, Maryland), stormwater runoff is the only major source of pollution still on the rise in the 166,000-km2 (64,000-mi2) Chesapeake Bay watershed. As ...
Spotlight
Virtual Experiences Bring Stormwater Outreach to Life
Part of the challenge of achieving financial and social buy-in for flood ...
New Report Underscores Funding Needs For U.S. Stormwater Sector
As heavy storm events become more frequent and impervious coverage spreads, the ...
WEF Stormwater Experts Offer Feedback on 2020 Industrial Stormwater Permit
Although specific protocols for manufacturing, processing, and storage may vary dramatically across ...
Latest News
Increasing Dependence on Mountain Meltwater Could Threaten Lowland Agriculture
California’s Central Valley generates an estimated $17 billion in crop sales each year while occupying less than 1% of farmland in the U.S., according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In many southern stretches of the Central Valley, as much as 50% of water currently used for agricultural irrigation originates from the Sierra Nevada mountains, […]
$4.6 Billion Plan Aims to Limit Storm Surge Risks in South Florida
The “Great Miami Hurricane” struck South Florida in 1926, creating intense wind gusts as fast as 240 km/h (150 mph). High winds carried huge volumes of rain and ocean water inland, leading to water levels as high as 4 m (12 ft) in downtown Miami. The historic storm caused nearly 250 deaths and more than […]
Build an At-Home ‘Storm in a Glass’ to Engage Kids in Stormwater
Effective stormwater management goes beyond utilities and regulatory agencies. Individuals need to participate, too. Helping these stakeholders understand the importance of stormwater and the forces that drive is an effort that can begin at home. In April, Popular Science featured a simple, 10-minute experiment aimed at helping children better understand precipitation and the importance of stormwater management. The simple demonstration requires only water, food coloring, shaving cream, and common […]
Air, Land, and Sea: Airports Embrace Stormwater Management to Protect Water Quality
Often containing miles of impervious runways, ubiquitous chemical demands for sanitation and safety purposes, and enormous fleets of vehicles with the potential to drip fuels, airports face unique stormwater management challenges.
WEF Helps EPA Select Eighth-Annual Campus RainWorks Challenge Winners
At U.S. colleges and universities, tomorrow’s stormwater professionals continue to demonstrate how green infrastructure (GI) can protect water quality and mitigate flooding while improving local property values and quality of life. In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of its eighth-annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, which tasks teams of college students with […]
USGS Updates SPARROW Streamflow Modeling Tool
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released new interactive mappers and models for its online SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) tool. The new models estimate streamflow and the concurrent yields of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment in both monitored and unmonitored inland stream reaches across the country as they feed into […]
WEF Stormwater Committee webcast convenes East Coast climate change experts
Eastern U.S. coastal communities are particularly sensitive to ice-melt in the Arctic Sea, according to hydrologist David Vallee. Vallee, the Hydrologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service’s Northeast River Forecast Center (Norton, Massachusetts), was one of three stormwater experts to discuss the effects of climate change on coastal and riverine areas of the eastern U.S. during […]
Participate in 2020 MS4 Needs Assessment Survey by May 31
Time is running out for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permittees in the U.S. to contribute to the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) Stormwater Institute’s 2020 MS4 Needs Assessment Survey. The survey — updated every two years — aims to identify common challenges and needs among the diverse array of U.S. stormwater managers. […]
Citizen Scientists Rescue Centuries of U.K. Rainfall Data
This winter, the United Kingdom weathered its rainiest February in at least 150 years of records kept by the U.K. Meteorological Office (Met Office). According to the Met Office, only four months from 1862 until today had higher monthly rainfall totals than February 2020. Comparing U.K. precipitation data across centuries was, until recently, a painstaking […]
Sweet Insight: App Helps Farmers Save Great Barrier Reef
One of the greatest threats to the health of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral system spanning more than 337,000 km2 (130,000 mi2), is the appetite of a reef-eating starfish measuring roughly 30 cm (12 in.) in length. Although the crown-of-thorns starfish is native to the Great Barrier Reef, it responds similarly to […]
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