The Stormwater Report

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas — including the water management challenges. Depending on the weather, many Texans routinely deal with either too much or too little water. Over two weeks in 2017, for example, Hurricane Harvey delivered approximately 80 million acre-feet of water to southeastern parts of the state — enough […]

In August 2017, the University of Southern California (USC; Los Angeles) cut the ribbon on USC Village, considered the largest development in the history of the university. The 6-ha (15-ac), $700 million community hub is located at the northern edge of the university’s main campus. It features two grocery stores, 25 restaurants and retailers, a […]

With chronic water shortages more commonplace across the U.S., and surging populations compounding scarcity issues in water stressed regions, the Water Research Foundation (WRF) released a new report that examines the risks, costs, and benefits of on-site water reuse of stormwater and graywater. The study, Using Graywater and Stormwater to Enhance Local Water Supplies: An Assessment […]

On Jan. 6, the California State Water Resources Control Board adopted a strategy that advances stormwater management statewide. The new strategy views stormwater as a resource for present and future water supply needs. Unmanaged stormwater runoff presents a threat to human life and property, and it is a significant source of water quality pollution. However, […]

. On May 26, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the National Water Center, a new facility located at the University of Alabama. The center is poised to become an incubator for innovative breakthroughs in water prediction products and services. As the country becomes more vulnerable to water-related events — from drought to flooding […]

On April 1, following the lowest snowpack ever recorded in California and with no end to the drought in sight, Gov. Edmund Brown announced the first-ever statewide mandatory water reductions. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, California has just one year of water supply in its […]

According to a recent study in Environmental Earth Sciences by researchers from Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, stormwater can be safely used for drinking after being pumped into underground aquifers and then treated. In Adelaide, a southern Australian city, researchers also found that stormwater could be harvested at a […]

… Scientists found that more than 75% of water loss in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin since late 2004 came from underground resources. A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and University of California, Irvine revealed that the extent of groundwater loss may pose a greater threat to the water supply of […]

In January, California Governor Edmund Brown called for a 20% reduction in water use in response to one of the worst state droughts on record. However, data shows that water use has actually increased, and there has been a shift toward greater groundwater use. In May, water use increased 1% compared to the same month […]

According to a new report released June 10 by the Pacific Institute and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), California could save up to 17.3 million cubic meters of untapped water. According to the issue brief, “The Untapped Potential of California’s Water Supply,” this is more than the amount of water used in all of California’s […]