Articles Tagged: Best Management Practices

Is a Catch Basin Appropriate Here? Before a catch basin is installed, it is important to step back and ask a simple but often overlooked question, what purpose is it actually going to serve at this location? Catch basins are frequently installed out of habit or because “there has always been o…

Culverts are often out of sight and, as a result, out of mind, until they fail. When they do fail, the consequences can range from nuisance flooding to full roadway washouts. One of the most overlooked factors in culvert performance is vegetation management. Too little control can obstruct flow and …

Municipal road crews are on the front lines of stormwater management whether they realize it or not. Every ditch they shape, every culvert they install, and every roadside repair they complete has a direct impact on how water moves across the landscape. Yet in many public works departments, stormwat…

Municipal stormwater systems tend to operate quietly in the background, doing their job year after year with little attention. Pipes carry flows, culverts pass streams beneath roads, catch basins collect runoff, and ditches guide water away from infrastructure. Because these systems are largely out …

For decades, the ideal suburban yard has been defined by a single image, a uniform carpet of bright green grass, edged with ornamental shrubs and kept pristine through fertilizers, pesticides, and frequent watering. It is neat, predictable, and widely accepted as a symbol of care and success. But fr…

Municipal governments are often viewed as stewards of water quality, yet many of their routine, necessary operations can unintentionally contribute pollutants to the stormwater system. Unlike wastewater, which is treated before discharge, stormwater typically flows untreated into nearby streams, riv…

Housing density is often discussed in terms of zoning, neighborhood character, or affordability, but it has a direct and measurable impact on stormwater runoff. In Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes a compelling case …

Managing outfalls as assets rather than afterthoughts represents a fundamental shift in how municipalities approach stormwater infrastructure. For many communities, outfalls are only addressed when something goes wrong, such as erosion, structural failure, or a visible discharge issue. By that point…

Training field crews to support asset management goals is one of the most overlooked, yet most impactful, steps a municipality can take when trying to build a reliable stormwater or roadway asset program. You can invest in the best software, develop detailed capital improvement plans, and establish …

Stormwater asset management is one of those concepts that sounds technical and abstract, yet at its core it is simply about knowing what you own, understanding its condition, and making informed decisions before problems turn into emergencies. For municipalities responsible for miles of pipe, hundre…

Stormwater outfalls are the final point where a drainage system releases water into a receiving body such as a stream, river, wetland, or lake. Because they sit at the end of the system, they are often overlooked until a visible failure occurs. When an outfall collapses or erodes, the consequences c…

Open channel outfalls occupy a unique space in stormwater infrastructure. They are simple in appearance, often nothing more than a vegetated swale or gently graded channel, yet when properly designed they function as treatment systems, flow control measures, and in northern climates even snow manage…