Stormwater Management Resources

41. Is The Western Drought Finally Ending? That Depends On Where You Look 3/21/2023

    After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up following a series of atmospheric rivers that brought record rain and snowfall to large parts of the region. Many people are looking at the snow and water levels and asking: Is the drought finally over?

42. To Clean Up England's Rivers We Need To Know How Much Sewage Is Dumped — But Water Firms Won't Tell Us 3/6/2023

    UK environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has demanded that water companies share plans for how they will reduce sewage discharges into rivers. They could start by coming clean on how much sewage is being dumped. If we don’t know how much sewage is actually being released — for at least the worst offending locations — we won’t be able to measure environmental and industry improvement with any confidence.

43. NZ Cities Urgently Need To Become 'Spongier' — But System Change Will Be Expensive 2/22/2023

    Floods, storms, and heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense in a changing climate, and cities are poorly prepared for what is coming. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is now a lot more talk about the need for “sponge cities.” The basic principle is to manage urban flood risks by utilizing more natural drainage and flood-resilient systems and material.

44. Stormwater Management Is A Worldwide Challenge 2/6/2023

    Last month, I wrote about San Francisco's great rain garden/bio-retention basin project. Strategically placed sunken curb cuts, swales, or park features collect stormwater and let it filter into the ground, reducing the pressure on overwhelmed storm drains and sewers.

45. Rain Gardens Guarding San Francisco 1/27/2023

    Laurie Lauria and I spent last week moving out of San Francisco up to Napa, California, dodging the raindrops and taking advantage of a few dry days in this remarkably stormy winter — weather that makes this a perfect time to talk about the need to capture rainwater and protect overwhelmed urban sewer systems.

46. As Heatwaves And Floods Hit Cities Worldwide, These Places Are Pioneering Solutions 1/23/2023

    Climate change is going just as badly for cities as we have been warned it would. Extreme weather is increasingly common and severe globally. Australian cities have endured a number of recent disastrous events. It’ll get worse, too. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fact sheet outlining impacts on human settlements is a very sobering read.

47. Flood Forecasts In Real-Time With Block-By-Block Data Could Save Lives — A New Machine Learning Method Makes It Possible 1/19/2023

    I am a hydrologist who sometimes works in remote areas, so interpreting weather data and forecast uncertainty is always part of my planning. As someone who once nearly drowned while crossing a flooded river where I shouldn’t have, I am also acutely conscious of the extreme human vulnerability stemming from not knowing exactly where and when a flood will strike.

48. Grad Student Reimagines Oklahoma City With Green Infrastructure Design Using InfoDrainage 1/17/2023

    Andrea Tavera, a former University of Oklahoma graduate student, used Innovyze drainage design software to promote LID-based, green infrastructure design in hopes of resolving Oklahoma’s two greatest drainage challenges caused by stormwater runoff: excessive flooding and pollution. 

49. America's Summer Of Floods: What Cities Can Learn From Today's Climate Crises To Prepare For Tomorrow's 8/26/2022

    Floods are complex events, and they are about more than just heavy rain. Each community has its own unique geography and climate that can exacerbate flooding, so preparing to deal with future floods has to be tailored to the community. Recent floods provide case studies that can help cities everywhere manage the increasing risk.

50. What Is A Flash Flood? A Civil Engineer Explains 8/8/2022

    Flash flooding is a specific type of flooding that occurs in a short time frame after a precipitation event — generally less than six hours. It often is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall and happens in areas near rivers or lakes, but it also can happen in places with no waterbodies nearby.