The Fundamentals of Field Inspections for Catch Basins, Culverts, and Outfall.

Field inspections of catch basins, manholes, culverts, and outfalls form the foundation of responsible stormwater management. These routine checks give municipalities an ongoing view of the condition of their drainage network and allow crews to identify issues long before they become flooding hazard…continue

How Harmful Algal Blooms Form, and Why Road Salt Is Making the Problem Worse

Harmful algal blooms have become one of the most pressing water quality problems in many regions, and their rise has been linked to a complicated blend of ecological, climatic, and human factors. In freshwater systems, these blooms are most often caused by cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue green…continue

Maintaining Stormwater Drainage Assets with Modern Management Software

*The screenshots used in this article are from Roadwurx, an asset management software created for road maintenance departments. Managing a town’s stormwater system can quickly become overwhelming when maintenance and inspection records are scattered across clipboards, spreadsheets, or dusty fi…continue

Five Red Flags in Culvert Inspections (and the Tools to Spot Them Fast)

Culverts are among the most overlooked pieces of municipal infrastructure, yet they play a critical role in keeping roads passable and communities safe from flooding. When a culvert fails, the results can be immediate and costly: road washouts, property damage, and emergency closures. That is why re…continue

Culvert Fundamentals: A Practical Overview for Municipal Stormwater Systems

Culverts are enclosed conduits that carry surface water beneath roads, railways, trails, and embankments, allowing drainage and traffic to coexist safely. They form one of the most common, and often most overlooked, structures in municipal stormwater networks. When sized, installed, and maintained c…continue

Protecting and Utilizing Natural Waterways in Stormwater Management Planning

Natural streams, creeks, and drainage swales evolved to carry rainfall runoff long before culverts and pipes existed, and they remain one of the most efficient, resilient, and cost-effective elements in any municipal stormwater network. When a community plans for development or retrofit, treating th…continue

Protecting Special Value and Sensitive Features During Site Development

Stormwater management succeeds when the landscape itself is considered the first line of defense. Certain parts of that landscape offer outsized benefits or face outsized risks, and thoughtful planning around them is essential. Special Value Features are areas that deliver exceptional stormwater ben…continue

Understanding Brownfields

A brownfield is real property whose reuse or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Congress added this definition to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), recognizing that l…continue

Precast Underground Vaults: How a Deep Sump Turns Runoff into Cleaner Outfall

What Exactly Is a Precast Underground Vault? A precast vault is a large, reinforced-concrete box or cylinder installed below grade to detain, treat, or both detain and treat stormwater when surface land is scarce. The modules are factory-made for quality control, then craned into an excavated pit an…continue

Restoring Riparian Corridors: Proven Techniques for Healthy Waterways

Riparian corridors, the vegetated strips that border rivers, streams, and lakes, serve as protective edges for both land and water. They filter pollutants, stabilize banks, slow floodwaters, recharge groundwater, and create habitat highways for fish and wildlife. When these corridors are degraded by…continue

Safeguarding Hydric Soils from Stormwater Runoff

Hydric soils, those that form under prolonged saturation and develop anaerobic conditions, are ecological powerhouses. They store carbon, filter pollutants, support wetlands, and buffer floods. Because they are already close to saturation, even modest increases in runoff volume or velocity can trigg…continue

Understanding Stormwater Outfalls: Types and Their Environmental Impact

What is a stormwater outfall? A stormwater outfall is the point where a storm-drain system, whether pipes, ditches, or channels, discharges runoff to a receiving water such as a stream, wetland, lake, or the ocean. Regulatory guidance clarifies that simple cross-road culverts, which only pass flow b…continue