In mid-September, Black & Veatch released its 10th biannual Stormwater Utility Survey. Started in 1991, the survey provides insights on stormwater management and trends in utility organization, planning, and financing. Black & Veatch collected responses in March and April this year from a total of 78 participants spanning 25 states. All participating stormwater utilities fund their stormwater program in whole or in part through stormwater user fees. This year, 25 first-time participants completed the survey, and respondents encompassed greater representation from smaller utilities.
According to the survey, municipally governed stormwater utilities continue to be more prevalent than regional stormwater authorities, which can make managing transboundary resources more difficult. As far as stormwater sector priorities, utility managers ranked availability of adequate funding highest. This also was the greatest challenge, even for those utilities with dedicated user fees, with 62% of respondents indicating a funding inadequacy. The second highest stormwater sector priority was, for the first time, enhancing public awareness and support for stormwater management, and the third priority was management of the expanding regulatory requirements. Utility managers also provide insights on infrastructure investment and planning decision drivers, with top selections being regulatory compliance, flood control, and safety and reliability. Read more.
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