Articles Tagged: Stormwater Management

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…

A Look at the English Brook Delta in Lake George, New York Sediment is a natural part of any water system, but when it accumulates faster than a system can handle, it begins to change the waterbody in ways that are both visible and subtle. Excess sediment alters water clarity, transports nutrients, …

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…

Retention and detention ponds are among the most recognizable features of modern stormwater management systems, yet they are often misunderstood or used interchangeably. While both are designed to manage runoff and protect downstream infrastructure, they serve distinct purposes and function in very …

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 …

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 …

Building a stormwater asset inventory often begins in a very familiar place, a spreadsheet opened by someone who knows the system well enough to start writing things down. There is nothing wrong with that starting point. In fact, many successful asset management programs begin with a simple table of…

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…

High density polyethylene, commonly referred to as HDPE, has become a widely used material for culvert pipe applications because it is lightweight, corrosion resistant, and relatively easy to install. In roadway and stormwater infrastructure, HDPE culverts are frequently selected as an alternative t…

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…

Stormwater culverts come in a wide range of materials, and each type carries a unique combination of strength, lifespan, cost, and installation considerations. Choosing the right material is not a one size fits all choice, because every site presents different soil conditions, hydraulic needs, envir…

A well managed stormwater program depends on accurate and complete information about every outfall in a community. Outfalls are the final discharge points where stormwater leaves the municipal system and enters a stream, lake, wetland, or other receiving water. Because these locations represent the …