The Stormwater Report

Building seawalls around high-traffic coastal areas such as piers, boardwalks, and beachfronts often can provide suitable protection from storm surges, but this added security can entail a social cost. In many cases, seawalls obstruct ocean views. Even worse, while seawalls may confine floodwaters to the beach, they also can restrict convenient ocean access by pedestrians […]

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 […]

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 […]

In a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology, a team of researchers from 20 countries highlight a gap in scientific knowledge about how stormwater might affect phytoplankton growth and the health of lakes and similar freshwater bodies. Because climatologists expect climate change to cause more intense and frequent storm events, the global […]

In southern Italy, the pristinely preserved remains of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have mystified historians and archaeologists since they were rediscovered nearly 300 years ago. Ongoing expeditions continue to reveal new details about the city and its people, believed to have been decimated by the sudden eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius around 79 […]

A look at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 study When stormwater professionals design projects to prevent flooding from rainfall, they need to know how much precipitation their area can expect to receive during both common rain events and exceptionally intense storms. While modeling systems are invaluable tools to help develop […]

Predicting the size and expected runoff volumes from hailstorms is notoriously difficult, according to researchers with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Because cloud systems that produce rain often have different features than those that produce hail, conventional prediction methods often fail to yield accurate forecasts. NCAR researchers investigating the challenge of hailstorm […]

People experiencing homelessness often have a difficult time securing work even when highly qualified. At the same time, municipal stormwater agencies working under limited budgets are always in search of outside-the-box ways to keep an ever-growing volume of urban debris out of waterways. A water quality-focused pilot program in Fairfax County, Va., aims to connect […]

Urbanization affects flash-flood risks differently in eastern and western U.S. For many water professionals, it may seem like Stormwater Management 101: As cities grow and develop over pervious spaces, stormwater runoff has increasingly fewer places to soak into and often flows into urban waterways. But how that extra runoff entering streams affects flash flooding may […]

When Hurricane Katrina tore across Louisiana in 2005, decimating wide swaths of New Orleans, the region’s vulnerability to flooding from severe storms became a cautionary tale for municipalities around the world. In the years since, local, state, and federal governments have spent more than $20 billion surrounding the city with updated flood control measures, explored […]