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

Recognizing Early Signs of Habitat Disruption Around Drainage Structures

Habitat disruption around drainage structures is often subtle at first, and many of the earliest signs tend to appear during ordinary field work rather than during formal environmental surveys. Because highway departments and public works crews encounter these locations regularly, they are in the be…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

Slip-Lining Culvert Pipes

When a culvert begins to corrode, crack, or separate at the joints, engineers and highway departments often face a choice between excavating the old pipe and installing a new one or rehabilitating the existing structure in place. Slip-lining is the most widely used trenchless rehabilitation techniqu…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

Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs): Your Municipality’s Unsung Stormwater Ally

What exactly is an SWCD? Created under state law in every state and most U.S. territories, nearly 3,000 locally led Soil and Water Conservation Districts now cover almost every county in the nation. Their boards, typically a mix of farmers, municipal officials, and at-large residents, design and del…continue

Gamifying MS4 Refresher Courses to Boost Retention

Why We Need a New Approach Annual (or even quarterly) MS4 refresher courses are mandatory under the NPDES Phase II program, yet completion logs and pop-quiz scores often reveal that municipal crews quickly forget key practices such as spill-response or best management practice (BMP) housekeeping. En…continue

Keeping Pace with the 2025 MS4 Permit Updates

What Changed & Why It Matters for Your Stormwater Program Why new MS4 rules landed in 2025 EPA’s 2015 NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (the “e-Rule”) postponed many Phase II requirements to give states time to build electronic portals. That grace period ends 21 December 2025, so…continue

Stormwater Operations Training for DPW Staff: Essential Skills for Modern Compliance and Performance

As regulatory requirements and infrastructure demands continue to evolve, stormwater operations training for Department of Public Works (DPW) and Highway Department staff has never been more critical. Effective training ensures that personnel are prepared to safely and efficiently manage stormwater …continue

Inspecting Catch Basins and Culverts: A Critical Component of MS4 Compliance

Proper inspection and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure, especially catch basins and culverts, is vital to ensure effective drainage performance, prevent flooding, and comply with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) regulations. These structures are often the first and most visible co…continue