Just like precipitation itself, the nature of the stormwater management sector is decentralized. Runoff-control infrastructure must cover entire watersheds to maximize its effectiveness, often crossing jurisdictional boundaries. This creates questions regarding who assumes responsibility for stormwater infrastructure construction and upkeep. Further, the ever-growing collection of designs and approaches for stormwater management complicates efforts to develop best practices for operations and maintenance, often forcing communities to make important stormwater management decisions based on incomplete information. For these reasons and more, devising a nationwide strategy to guide and expedite the growth of the U.S. stormwater sector has proven challenging.

In 2015, the release of the inaugural Rainfall to Results report marked the launch of the WEF Stormwater Institute. Like the 2015 report, the 2023 update was authored and reviewed by an interdisciplinary group of sector-leading stormwater professionals and will guide WEF’s ongoing efforts to identify common challenges, enhance information-sharing, and develop new resources to assist U.S. stormwater organizations of all sizes and contexts.

Seven ‘Vision Areas’ for Sustainable Stormwater Management

Rainfall to Results re-visits six vision areas of the stormwater profession that represent the sector’s most pressing challenges or highest-potential opportunities for improvement and adds a seventh area to consider climate change. These vision areas cover the gamut of developments in the stormwater sector from the spread of digital twins, artificial intelligence, and other cutting-edge technologies to promoting interjurisdictional and interdisciplinary cooperation on stormwater management, establishing a set of sector-wide, universally relevant priorities to guide future action.

The visions areas are

• Work at the Watershed Scale,
• Transform Stormwater Governance,
• Support Innovation and Best Practices,
• Manage and Maintain Stormwater Assets,
• Continue to Close the Funding Gap,
• Engage the Community, and
• Plan for Stormwater Resilience.

The report explores each of these vision areas in detail. Each section begins with a forward-looking vision statement that describes ideal future conditions for that aspect of the U.S. stormwater sector. This is followed by a set of three to six specific action items targeted toward researchers, practitioners, regulators, and legislators that will help move the needle toward these ideal futures. Action items are reinforced with case studies from around the U.S. and beyond, highlighting exemplary work underway by stormwater organizations of all sizes and scopes.

New Challenges, New Opportunities

New to the 2023 Rainfall to Results report is a seventh vision area addressing the need for stormwater organizations to better incorporate climate change resilience into their practices.

Report authors describe that stormwater managers must develop proactive, future-facing resilience plans that incorporate the latest authoritative climate change projections. These plans should assess how changing precipitation trends are expected to affect existing stormwater infrastructure as well as incorporate emerging monitoring technology — such as advanced sensors, warning networks, and hydraulic modeling programs — to accurately gauge these effects.

According to the report, many different stakeholders can play a role in this work. State and federal governments as well as equipment manufacturers can help make these technologies more accessible, and the research community can support efforts to standardize and consolidate climate change projections into more actionable data for stormwater managers, the report details.

The 2023 report outlines new opportunities to improve the U.S. stormwater sector and identifies emerging challenges. Report authors draw a parallel between the rise of green infrastructure 8 years ago and the dawn of “smart” stormwater infrastructure today.  In 2015, green infrastructure was considered an unexplored frontier for the U.S. stormwater sector. That same momentum is now building behind high-tech measures with automated controls and sensing capabilities, able to optimize infrastructure operations and improve long-term resilience.

Likewise, the report describes a shift to valuing runoff as an underutilized resource, ripe for reuse opportunities with proper treatment capabilities. This is in contrast to its past reputation as something that required diversion and disposal. The largest-ever federal investment in U.S. stormwater programs is expected to create new flexibility to help stormwater professionals seize these new trends, authors describe.

Read the full 2023 Rainfall to Results: The Future of Stormwater report via WEF’s Access Water platform.

Top image courtesy of PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post Updated Rainfall to Results Report Plots Course for Future of U.S. Stormwater Sector appeared first on Stormwater Report.

The National Municipal Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards program, developed and introduced in 2015 by the Water Environment Federation through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was established to recognize high-performing regulated MS4s. Award winners meet and exceed regulatory requirements in innovative ways that are effective and cost-efficient.

Submissions will undergo an expert committee review and selection process. Each applicant will be designated a Bronze, Silver, or Gold community within the categories of both program management and innovation.

High-performers in program management and innovation will be recognized at WEFTEC 2023 in Chicago.

Questions? Contact Lisa Deason at LDeason@wef.org.

SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR WEF’s 2023 MS4 AWARDS BY JUNE 5

The post Applications Now Open for 2023 WEF MS4 Awards appeared first on Stormwater Report.

The event gave participants an opportunity to engage with U.S. decisionmakers about the latest legislative, regulatory, and political trends shaping the U.S. stormwater sector.

The forum also provided a platform for such agencies and organizations as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and American Rivers (Washington, D.C.) to deliver program updates.

“WEF and its partners were overjoyed to see stormwater professionals from across the U.S. convene in our nation’s capital to advocate for solutions to the sector’s long list of challenges, such as aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, and funding gaps,” said Bianca Pinto, WEF Stormwater Practice Lead. “Whether you attended in-person or online, we sincerely thank you for taking the time to join us in our work to push for a stronger, more adaptable, and more equitable stormwater management landscape.”

The in-person event, which also was live streamed, was organized by the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) and the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA; Alexandria, Virginia) in cooperation with the National League of Cities (Washington, D.C.) and National Association of Counties (Washington, D.C.).

Insights From State and Federal Leaders

The event began with a welcome from forum organizers. Then, Evan Branosky, Chief Stormwater Policy Advisor for the Virginia Department of Environment Quality (VDEQ), delivered the keynote address. He described innovative ways that state governments can support stronger, community scale stormwater management programs.

Branosky discussed recent VDEQ efforts to consolidate years of VDEQ guidance and resources into a centralized Virginia Stormwater Handbook. This guide grants communities in the state easy access to up-to-date information on regulations, funding mechanisms, design specifications, and more. He also described a regional partnership between the state government and Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) that focuses on developing innovative approaches to stem the tide of nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture into the Chesapeake Bay via runoff. His remarks also included plans to launch a new, statewide trading platform for water-related commodities in 2024.

Next, policy staff representing both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives talked about NOAA efforts to substantially update its Atlas 14 program using funds from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The upcoming Atlas 15 program will provide more accurate, up-to-date, and dynamic precipitation frequency data to assist in stormwater infrastructure planning across the U.S. — crucial information for designing climate-resilient flood-control systems.

Later in the day, EPA personnel briefed the audience about EPA’s recent actions to support stormwater infrastructure implementation as well as coordinate research, information sharing, and regulation. Among others, these actions include

• a new website that provides guidance on best practices for off-site stormwater management,
• the launch of a new public-outreach toolkit known as Stormwater Smart,
• a new EPA publication on disaster-resilient green infrastructure design, and
• an update on the Green Infrastructure Federal Collaborative — an initiative launched in 2021 to coordinate green infrastructure facilitation activities across the federal government.

EPA representatives also discussed ongoing research on such topics as stormwater reuse, source control, integrated planning, and emerging contaminants.

Recommendations From the Stormwater Sector

Before each annual National Stormwater Policy Forum, WEF and NMSA develop a list of recommendations that outlines ways the federal government can help U.S. communities and utilities better manage stormwater. This year’s Recommendations to Improve the Stormwater Program in the U.S. documentspecifies four key funding and policy priorities for the next fiscal year.

Although the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized an unprecedented level of funding for various stormwater programs, many of these provisions have not received full appropriations stipulated under the legislation. WEF and NMSA urge U.S. Congress to fund fully these previously authorized programs during the fiscal year 2024 budgeting process. One example of these programs is establishing Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies.

The recommendations document also calls for new federal infrastructure funding options, several of which could be easily established by modifying existing programs. As only 1.8% of Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans have been used for stormwater investments over the program’s 30-year duration, authors call for a new grant program for regional stormwater infrastructure that would eventually mature into a full-fledged Stormwater State Revolving Fund program.

Another recommendation is to create two new federal programs that target specific technical needs in the stormwater sector. In one program, federal agencies should allocate resources to help communities develop local- and regional-scale computer models that more accurately track real-time rainfall and flooding during storms, as well as provide more detail about forecasted precipitation. The second effort should target source control for stormwater pollutants of concern by establishing a permanent EPA program focusing on keeping per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics, and tire-wear derivatives out of runoff.

A Sneak Peek at Results From 2022 MS4 Needs Survey

WEF also unveiled preliminary results from its 2022 National MS4 Needs Assessment Survey, which take stock of common challenges faced by regulated stormwater organizations throughout the U.S. This third installment in the biennial series was administered from late 2022 through early 2023.

Just under 650 organizations responded. They represent agencies of all sizes and geographic contexts. Three similarly ranked challenges emerged: aging infrastructure, funding needs, and staffing challenges.

Respondents also indicated they needed more information how to access existing funding and financing opportunities to support stormwater programs and infrastructure, as well as best practices for long-term, post-construction monitoring and maintaining of stormwater infrastructure performance.

Survey results also highlighted a need for proper protocols to help stormwater managers develop long-term infrastructure resilience plans as the effects of climate change become more apparent. Over 90% of respondents had not prepared a forward-looking stormwater infrastructure resilience plan. Additionally, nearly 75% of respondents had not updated local design standards for stormwater infrastructure according to recent data on the increasing volume and frequency of precipitation in their region. This preparedness gap, respondents report, largely results from a lack of proper funding to support long-term planning activities.

WEF plans to release full findings from the 2022 National MS4 Needs Assessment Survey later this year.

Top image courtesy of Bianca Pinto/WEF

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post National Stormwater Policy Forum Provides Updates on State of U.S. Stormwater Sector appeared first on Stormwater Report.

Intending to provide clarity to infrastructure designers and managers, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE; Reston, Virginia) recently released Manual of Practice 39: Urban Stormwater Controls Operation and Maintenance. The 412-page handbook, which covers all elements of developing stormwater maintenance programs from conception through quality control, is now available for purchase in physical and digital formats.

“There are several manuals and publications that provide information on maintenance needs in specific geographies or for specific SCMs, but there was no national publication that compiled all the most recent procedures and practices to have a sound operations and maintenance program,” described ARCADIS (Arlington, Virginia) National Director for Stormwater and Watershed Management Fernando Pasquel, who led development efforts behind the handbook. “WEF and ASCE responded to these needs and formed a task force to develop this comprehensive manual of practice.”

The Urban Stormwater Controls Operation and Maintenance Task Force behind the manual, convened by WEF’s Technical Practice Committee, drew on the expertise of more than two dozen infrastructure professionals among the membership of WEF and ASCE at the forefront of their respective fields. Guidance from these subject matter experts was subject to a rigorous, anonymized peer-review process in an effort to produce a resource that reflects the stormwater sector’s consensus on best practices for operations and maintenance.

Among other topics, Urban Stormwater Controls Operation and Maintenance covers:

• developing long-term maintenance programs within specific regulatory frameworks;
• incorporating maintenance considerations into SCM design and construction;
• differences in maintenance concerns between green and gray infrastructure;
• best practices for inspection and maintenance during and after construction;
• tools for effective asset management; and
• identifying solutions for maintenance personnel, equipment, and costs.

“Case studies are presented to illustrate these concepts in large and small utilities and municipalities,” Pasquel said. “You will find all you wanted to know about stormwater infrastructure maintenance in this manual of practice.”

Urban Stormwater Controls Operations and Maintenance joins a growing collection of other WEF-published resources for stormwater professionals. It is a direct companion to Manual of Practice 23: Design of Urban Stormwater Controls, published in 2012. It also complements the 2020 publication Stormwater, Watershed, and Receiving Water Quality Modeling.

Purchase Urban Stormwater Controls Operations and Maintenance via WEF’s online bookstore for USD $165. WEF members are eligible to save 20% on this and other WEF publications.

Top image courtesy of Ekaterina Ershova/Pixabay

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post Now Available: <i>Urban Stormwater Controls Operation and Maintenance</i> appeared first on Stormwater Report.

When asked to give opening remarks for Stormwater Summit 2022, my answer was an easy and enthusiastic “yes”.

Knowing that the summit’s technical sessions would be chock full of experienced experts sharing their how and what of stormwater, I used my remarks to reflect on the why. Why is our expertise needed? Why does our work matter? Yes, there are regulatory ultimatums and contract obligations that drive us, but taking a page out of author Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why, I wanted to ground the conference within the bigger “why” of what we do.

We’ve long known that water and climate are inextricably linked, and now we are living the reality that the changing climate is transforming our water landscape. Rainfall that once was naturally absorbed by vegetation, wetlands, and in-tact soils now races from hardened landscapes, eroding soils, picking up pollutants, and merging into floods that increasingly destroy property and take precious lives. With cruel irony, new weather patterns simultaneously create prolonged drought that leave communities scrambling for water supplies.

Importantly, we must ensure that our solutions do not make the problem even worse. It wasn’t that many years ago when American cities “solved” stormwater problems by straightening streams and turning them into lifeless, concrete channels. Like the hydra of Greek mythology who grew multiple heads to replace each severed one, channelized streams exacerbate downstream flooding and pollution while also destroying the wetlands and hyporheic zones that recharge aquifers and naturally remove pollutants. As if that weren’t enough, we now know that the concrete manufacturing process is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Hercules slayed the hydra by cauterizing the wounds of each destroyed head before new ones could proliferate. He stemmed the problem at its root. If stormwater is our hydra, we need to find ways to manage it as locally as possible, replenishing groundwater and using green solutions that can absorb carbon dioxide rather than emit it. We need to treat it as the resource that it is rather than send it immediately downstream where it becomes someone else’s problem. And we need to recognize the role that stormwater management, if done with foresight, can play in mitigating climate trends.

And just like water is woven into all aspects of climate change, it is also part and parcel of a wide array of social challenges that on their face might seem like they would have nothing to do with water. Of the United Nations’ seventeen sustainable development goals, only two are explicitly about water, but further examination quickly reveals that water is woven into all seventeen. For this reason, in 2019 WEF endorsed the full suite of sustainable development goals.

Of course, our work doesn’t end with the summit. I hope that each of us, whether we attended the summit or not, will continue to advance the practice of sustainable stormwater in our own communities and within the broader ecosystem of actors and influencers. Share the upcoming revamp of WEF’s Rainfall to Results report with elected officials. Participate in the 2022 MS4 Needs Assessment Survey when it comes out this fall. And join us for WEFTEC in New Orleans this October. I’ll be there and I hope you will be too!

Interested in a deeper dive into the Stormwater Summit 2022 experience? Here are a few of my takeaways. 

Proceedings from Stormwater Summit 2022 are now available for purchase on Access Water. Get the full collection of proceedings here, or explore individual presentations here.

Top image courtesy of Bianca Pinto/WEF

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Broaddus, Ph.D, M.B.A., formed Broadview Collaborative Inc. in 2014 as a platform for advancing sustainable, resilient practices in the water sector. She serves as a strategic adviser and facilitator for private-sector, nonprofit, and philanthropic clients throughout North America, and is known for bringing new ways of thinking to the crucial environmental challenges of our day. Broaddus is a member of the WEF Board of Trustees and served as 2021-2022 WEF President.

The post Broaddus: The Bigger ‘Why’ of Stormwater Management appeared first on Stormwater Report.

Serving as the foundation for the Stormwater Policy Forum, NMSA and the WEF Stormwater Institute released a fact sheet detailing specific legislative needs and priorities to help guide the success of the U.S. stormwater sector. The document, 2022 Recommendations to Improve the Stormwater Program in the U.S., lauds the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which authorized an unprecedented level of funding for stormwater programs. However, it also outlines a host of additional ways that the sector can benefit from federal investment and legislation.

“The historic stormwater infrastructure funding programs authorized last year as part of the IIJA represent a major step forward to ensure U.S. communities are adequately protected from flooding, emerging contaminants, and the effects of climate change,” said Steve Dye, WEF Legislative Director. “The time is now to build on this momentum through congressional funding for these newly authorized programs.  Funding is needed to ensure that the new programs help communities address their current stormwater infrastructure needs as efficiently and equitably as possible, as well as work proactively to better address tomorrow’s stormwater challenges.”

Fund Recently Authorized Stormwater Provisions

Although the IIJA prescribed more than $700 million for stormwater program funding in addition to significant, stormwater-eligible enhancements to the EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs, the U.S. Congress must now appropriate funds during the Fiscal Year 2023 budgeting process to support these commitments. Among the agreed-upon stormwater provisions that now require appropriations are

• $280 million annually for the EPA Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants program, subsidizing projects that address combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and municipal stormwater infrastructure;
• $25 million annually for a new Alternative Source Water Pilot program, which will include funding for stormwater capture projects;
• $25 million annually for resilience and sustainability grants;
• $10 million annually for municipal stormwater planning and implementation grants;
• $50 million for the EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, which provides long-term, low-cost loans to support large-scale water projects;
• $5 million to establish five stormwater technology “Centers of Excellence,” which would perform research to formulate new infrastructure designs and maximize the value of investments in stormwater control; and
• $5 million to update the EPA Clean Watershed Needs Survey, which assesses the U.S. stormwater sector’s financial requirements to ensure adequate levels of service and protection.

Develop New Stormwater Funding Opportunities

Although financial provisions in the IIJA introduce and bolster several grant programs to support stormwater investments, data shows that stormwater organizations of all sizes require more stable, ongoing sources of funding. For example, WEF’s 2020 MS4 Needs Assessment Survey found that only 25% of regulated stormwater communities have a dedicated revenue source such as a stormwater utility.

Report authors describe a collection of ideas for new funding mechanisms to promote the stormwater sector’s growth and long-term financial resilience. These include

• establishing a Stormwater Construction Grant program that would eventually mature into a loan-based Stormwater State Revolving Fund program, following the model of Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs;
• enhancing efforts to promote, fund, and incentivize the formation of local stormwater utilities; and
• revising the Clean Water Act Section 319 program to expand eligibility for stormwater projects.

Support Atlas 14 Updates

Virtually all segments of the U.S. stormwater sector — from utilities and watershed managers to infrastructure engineers and climate change modelers — depend on credible, research-backed estimations of how the effects of climate change might affect precipitation frequency in their specific region. Since 2004, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has worked to provide this critical information through its Atlas 14 program. However, lacking consistent funding for ongoing study or a regular update schedule, many stormwater professionals operate under widely different estimations of future precipitation in their respective regions, undermining resilience planning efforts.

Some regions have not received an update to their Atlas 14 precipitation frequency estimates in more than a decade. Five states in the northwest U.S. — Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana — still have yet to receive even initial precipitation frequency estimates from the Atlas 14 study.

2022 Recommendations to Improve the Stormwater Program in the U.S. calls for NOAA to receive adequate funding and staffing resources to maximize the Atlas 14 study’s usefulness. In particular, stormwater professionals require a predictable Atlas 14 update schedule as well as revised design storms that take into account the latest climate change projections from the research community as they evolve. Consistent, standardized precipitation frequency estimates from an authoritative, federal source will ensure that stormwater infrastructure investments are planned as efficiently as possible, the authors write.

Focus on Source Control

The number of potential contaminants transported in runoff is expanding at a rate that stormwater infrastructure technology cannot match. For that reason, the most effective way for stormwater professionals to address such threats as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics, and tire-wear derivates is to prevent these contaminants from enteringrunoff, fact sheet authors describe.

The recommendations document also calls on EPA to establish a new, permanent pollutant source control program within the U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Management. The new department should work to advance strategies like product substitution, green chemistry, and the discontinuation of certain chemicals known to pose environmental threats when they enter the environment. EPA is uniquely poised to address source control, authors write, drawing on an example of the agency’s work in restricting entire classes of organophosphate-based pesticides in recent years.

Read the full fact sheet, 2022 Recommendations to Improve the Stormwater Program in the U.S., at the WEF Stormwater Institute website.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post Funding, Source Control Top 2022 List of Stormwater Legislative Priorities appeared first on Stormwater Report.

“Ensuring global water security demands that we do more to take advantage of stormwater as a vital resource instead of regarding it as a nuisance to manage,” said Claudio Ternieden, WEF Senior Director of Government Affairs, who helped coordinate the report. “As many communities across the U.S. are already demonstrating, thoughtfully planned stormwater capture and use programs have the potential to augment drinking water, mitigate flooding, and enhance environmental equity. Pure Potential proposes a framework to help guide regulators, academics, and stormwater professionals as they work to maximize these benefits.”

The report, which synthesizes conclusions from a series of meetings in 2021 that included EPA, WEF, NMSA, the WateReuse Association (Alexandria, Virginia), and the Re-Inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt) research consortium, outlines six key focus areas to spur SCU adoption:

• enhance SCU coordination and leadership;
• build trust and understanding through partnerships;
• clarify regulations, policy, and guidance;
• expand funding mechanisms;
• advance science and treatment standards; and
• accelerate the use of new technologies and SCU strategies.

The Buy-In Challenge

SCU systems already in operation show remarkable flexibility in terms of their goals, designs, and scales, making some form of SCU system viable in nearly any circumstance. This flexibility also creates challenges, however, for providing high-level guidance on SCU system implementation due to its inherently site-specific nature. Report authors stress the need for a greater focus on SCU within the water sector discourse, such as by showcasing successful examples of SCU systems across different scales and climates in handbooks, conference presentations, and training programs.

Integrating SCU systems into local water management frameworks, however, also requires effective communication outside the water sector. Authors describe the need for better communication strategies targeting other local-level water managers, such as departments of transportation, planning and zoning boards, and fish and wildlife stewards. While brokering SCU partnerships, stormwater professionals should stick to clear, jargon-free messages about the potential for SCU systems to achieve multiple co-benefits at comparable or lower costs than wastewater recycling or seawater desalination. One example, backed by recent research, is that if SCU systems were adopted throughout the U.S., they could potentially provide about 35 million acre-feet per year of additional water supplies — equal to approximately 75% of the country’s total annual public water withdrawals. Report authors discuss creating a communications toolkit to equip stormwater professionals with the data and information they need to better convey the benefits of SCU systems.

EPA intends to play a larger role in coordinating these information-sharing efforts by developing an internal SCU leadership team to raise awareness about SCU efforts and attract buy-in both within the agency and across the federal government, according to the report. As no federal regulations currently exist that specifically concern SCU systems, EPA will also explore ways to provide regulatory certainty for SCU systems within existing statutes such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, authors write.

The Logistical Challenge

Most stormwater managers already struggle with tight budgets and inconsistent technical guidance for new types of infrastructure, rendering SCU systems virtually unattainable for many communities. In addition to new strategies to share information and communicate SCU benefits, establishing an effective SCU community of practice also requires advances in research, technology, and funding strategies.

Authors call for new grant programs from federal and state governments that incentivize integrated water management between stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater agencies, with clear language specifying eligibility for SCU projects. According to the report, EPA should re-assess flexibilities for SCU within existing grants, such as its Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs. Meanwhile, WEF and other water sector advocates should raise awareness about funding strategies that support SCU by emphasizing case studies of successful projects already in existence.

The scientific and regulatory community must develop fit-for-purpose treatment standards for SCU systems that cater separately to the range of potable and non-potable uses SCU systems aim to enable, authors write. SCU adoption would also benefit from standard system design plans tailored to different goals, scales, and settings certified by a professional engineer, providing benchmarks for SCU-minded organizations as they plan their own systems. Existing programs, such as NMSA’s Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP) initiative and the International Stormwater BMP Database, offer the potential to disseminate this technical information if their criteria can be expanded to include SCU technologies, the report describes.

Read the full report,Pure Potential: The Case for Stormwater Capture and Use at the EPA website.

Top image courtesy of sandid/Pixabay

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post Stormwater Capture and Use Report Identifies and Addresses Roadblocks appeared first on Stormwater Report.

Registration for the Stormwater Summit, hosted by the WEF Stormwater Institute in cooperation with the Central States Water Environment Association, will open March 22.

“This year’s Stormwater Summit Steering Committee has created a technical program showcasing sustainability, resiliency, and environmental justice in the stormwater sector,” said Nancy Ellwood, co-chair of the WEF Stormwater Summit Steering Committee. “There is perhaps no better way for stormwater professionals to stay on top of today’s most significant trends and technologies than to join us in Minneapolis.”

Much to Learn in Minneapolis

Topics covered in this year’s technical sessions run the gamut from organization-scale issues, such as operations and maintenance, public outreach, and infrastructure decision-making, to broader subjects, like climate change adaptation, environmental justice, and new technologies on the horizon. Each session will last for at least an hour, and start times are interspersed throughout the event to enable attendees to tailor their schedules according to their interests.

Technical session highlights include exclusive, first-hand updates on several national-level programs and initiatives, including the Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP) program, the next installment of WEF’s Rainfall to Results publication, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2022 Clean Watershed Needs Survey. The program will also feature a collection of innovative case studies from around the U.S., such as an effort to plan green infrastructure throughout Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia River watershed, predicting the effects of storms on water quality in Los Angeles, and outside-the-box infrastructure funding strategies in Seattle.

Among other topics covered in technical sessions are:

• stormwater capture and use;
• asset, program, and utility management;
• diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• watershed-level stormwater planning;
• hydrological research; and
• innovative funding and financing mechanisms.

Explore the full Stormwater Summit 2022 technical program at the event website.

Extracurricular Activities

Strategically designed and placed green infrastructure has the potential to ensure stormwater management efforts benefit all parts of a community equally, including those areas that have historically experienced chronic underinvestment. However, accurately gauging the many socio-economic co-benefits of green infrastructure to identify areas in need can often be difficult for stormwater managers.

The Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange (GILE) recently released its 2022 State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI report, outlining ways to improve environmental equity through green infrastructure as well as gauge the effectiveness of existing green infrastructure.

During a pre-conference workshop on June 27, engage with speakers from GILE and equity minded stormwater leaders from around the U.S. to explore how to interpret the report into results for your community. The full-day, hands-on workshop will explore ways that both utility leaders and practitioners can support environmental justice through green infrastructure, how to set and measure progress toward equity goals, and underscore the links between green infrastructure and socioeconomic welfare.

Pre-registration for the workshop, titled “Get to Know the Equity Guide: Measuring & Evaluating Progress Towards Equity in GSI,” is required during Stormwater Summit 2022 registration. 

Registrants may also opt into either or both of two facility tours, offering attendees the chance to experience outstanding examples of stormwater innovation in the Minneapolis area firsthand. One tour, focused on stormwater reuse, will bring guests to Allianz Field, the new office building of the Capitol Region Watershed District, and the Towerside Innovation District adjacent to the University of Minnesota (UMN; Minneapolis). A second tour, focused on research and technology, invites guests to the historic St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at UMN. This interdisciplinary fluid mechanics research lab contains a range of state-of-the-art experimental research facilities to study stormwater behavior in a way that few facilities can match, which attendees will explore alongside briefings about the laboratory’s latest research projects.

More Information

After registration for Stormwater Summit 2022 opens in late March, visit the event website for details on travel, attendance, and continuing education credits. Register by May 13 to take advantage of Super-Saver rates.

Questions? Contact SWSummit@wef.org or (703) 684-2400, ext. 7450. 

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post Explore the Stormwater Summit 2022 Technical Program appeared first on Stormwater Report.

As the new chairs settle into their roles, they spoke to Stormwater Report about their professional backgrounds as well as their plans and priorities during their leadership terms.

Scott Taylor, WEF Stormwater Institute Advisory Committee

I am looking forward to working with you over the next two years to improve U.S. stormwater programs as well as overall stormwater quality.

The U.S. Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) program is currently at a crossroads. On the regulatory side, it faces needs to implement numeric standards through total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and retrofit the built environment with green infrastructure. On the technical side, our tools remain somewhat primitive for removing dissolved compounds from stormwater. Also, the tens of millions of potential pollutants and episodic volumes of stormwater runoff complicate practical and economical solutions to improve runoff water quality. 

My overarching goal for the WEF Stormwater Institute is to help move the national stormwater program forward, identifying ways to improve the performance of stormwater infrastructure investments as well as cost-effective ways to implement these investments. An additional goal is to improve access to funding and other resources to help MS4 permittees implement more robust programs. 

Some of the specific ideas I plan to discuss with the Advisory Committee for potential development by WEF include the following:

• Standard training and a career path for stormwater professionals. The water and wastewater treatment sectors have a well-defined curriculum and structure to advance in facility operation and management.  Stormwater professionals lack this structure. WEF is a leader in water education, and it is a natural fit for WEF to provide the leadership to establish a career path and structure for stormwater professionals.
• Create a curated library of available curriculums for elementary and middle-school classes about stormwater. A pressing issue is that the public has little understanding of what stormwater is, and the problems of stormwater pollution. Creating this awareness early will pay dividends for stormwater in the future. We also will look at ways to educate the general public about stormwater and its value as an essential utility in the urban environment.
• Support source control for stormwater. As of July 2009, there were more than 48 million known organic and inorganic substances assigned a chemical abstract number, with more than 12,000 additional substances being added each day. We need to shift from discovering and mitigating pollutants at the end of the pipe and instead focus on control of pollutants at their source.
• Promote One Water. Ultimately, urban stormwater needs to be recycled and used in direct potable reuse systems. This will solve not only the issue of treating polluted urban runoff, but also will help make the urban water cycle more sustainable. The WEF Stormwater Institute is currently updating its Rainfall to Results publication, and the One Water approach will be central in the publication’s updated vision for stormwater.
• Secure funding. WEF has been invaluable in helping to get the word ‘stormwater’ into infrastructure legislation. We need to continue this progress and push for appropriations to match the enabling legislation. Among Stormwater Institute funding priorities are creating new grant programs for stormwater infrastructure; working toward a dedicated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Stormwater; expanding access to Section 319 funding for MS4 permittees; and implementing recent recommendations from the EPA Environmental Finance Advisory Board.

The Stormwater Institute also will continue to support implementation of the Stormwater Testing and Evaluation of Products and Practices (STEPP) program, now under the stewardship of the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA). STEPP is an important initiative that will enable stormwater programs to optimize their investments.

My 37-year career in water resources has prepared me well for my term as chair of the WEF Stormwater Institute Advisory Committee. I am a civil engineer based in California with professional registration in ten states. I have received recognition as an American Society of Civil Engineers (Reston, Virginia) Fellow, and hold a Diplomate designation from the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (Reston, Virginia). I have been a member of the California Stormwater Quality Association for more than 20 years and served a term as Chairman of the Board. 

My professional career includes work in hydrology, hydraulics, sediment transport, as well as stormwater quality and management. My focus for the past 20 years has been MS4 programs.

Along with Randy Neprash and Seth Brown, I founded NMSA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting MS4s in implementing their stormwater programs, and currently serve as its chair. In addition to its technical work, NMSA aims to provide a unified, national voice on MS4 issues.

Learn more about Scott Taylor at the NMSA website. Learn more about the WEF Stormwater Institute on its homepage.

Mark Doneux, WEF Stormwater Committee

The WEF Stormwater Committee advocates for effective stormwater management by developing high-quality technical products and programming to support stormwater professionals, promote innovation in the field, support policies that recognize the importance of implementing sound management principles, encourage communication and outreach with the public and decision makers, and collaborate with organizations and groups to advance the field. The committee is comprised of 150 volunteer participants from state/local governments, consultants, academics, non-profits, vendors, and other organizations.

One major initiative for the Stormwater Committee was a realignment of its subcommittees, which support the committee’s work in specific areas, that occurred in 2021. The reorganization involved the addition of a new Industrial Stormwater Subcommittee, as well as other changes informed by the committee’s strategic plan and a recently conducted member interest survey. Overall, the realignment aimed to place a greater emphasis on emerging and high-interest topics within the stormwater sector, provide greater opportunities for volunteering, engagement, and leadership among members. In 2022, the committee will work to ensure the successful launch of these new subcommittees and support their leadership.

The updated list of subcommittees now includes

• Funding and Finance,
• Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Control Measures,
• Industrial Stormwater,
• Innovation and Technology,
• Policy, Governance, and Regulation,
• Public Outreach, Education, and Collaboration, and
• Resiliency.

The committee is planning a webinar for May 2022 as well as several ongoing “all-hands” calls, in which members will hear the latest news from the stormwater sector, learn about subcommittee initiatives, receive updates from our other partners at WEF including the Stormwater Institute, the WEF Watershed Committee, the WEF Committee Leadership Council, the WEFTEC Program Committee, and the WEF Technical Practices Committee.

Members also will work this year to ensure that stormwater is identified in the next U.S. EPA Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS), which begins in 2022; support WEF’s Water Week efforts; and present at the June 2022 Stormwater Summit and at WEFTEC.

Aside from my work with the WEF Stormwater Committee, I am the Administrator of the Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) in St. Paul, Minnesota, and have more than 35 years of experience in the water resources field. As administrator, I oversee all CRWD operations, including 22 staff, as well as manage the $11-million CRWD annual budget and work plan. CRWD operates its own regulatory program, performs stormwater research, provides watershed education, and maintains best management practices. It also owns, operates, and maintains a 10-km (6-mi) regional storm sewer system. Additionally, we implement capital improvement projects and provide grant funding to support water quality projects. 

This year at WEFTEC, I was honored to receive the Volunteer Service Award for my work on the WEF Stormwater Committee. Additionally, I am a member of the Minnesota Association of Watershed Administrators and will become their president in 2022.  For the Central States Water Environment Federation, I am the chair of the Minnesota Chapter’s Stormwater Committee. I am also honored to once again co-chair the Stormwater Summit, to be held in Minneapolis in June 2022.

Learn more about Mark Doneux at the CRWD website. Learn more about the WEF Stormwater Committee on wef.org.

The post Meet WEF’s Newest Stormwater Leaders appeared first on Stormwater Report.

Existing information on asset management — the process of optimizing infrastructure performance by identifying defects, performing proactive maintenance, and budgeting for life-cycle costs — is robust for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. However, best-practice asset management procedures are sparse for stormwater measures. As a result, many stormwater organizations lack applicable, data-backed guidance to keep their investments sustainable and cost-effective.

This 21-month project will aim to identify asset management information gaps that exist in the U.S. stormwater sector; produce tools, checklists, and guidelines to fill these gaps; and formulate a standardized approach to stormwater asset management applicable across climates and service area sizes. Alongside the WEF Stormwater Institute, project partners include Arcadis (Highlands Ranch, Colorado), and the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA; Alexandria, Virginia).

“Within a city or municipality, stormwater infrastructure is scattered everywhere and includes a lot more than just pipes. Without knowing where everything is and what condition it’s in, it’s very challenging to manage,” said Rebecca Arvin-Colón, WEF Stormwater Institute Senior Manager. She added that enhanced approaches to asset management can extend the longevity of stormwater infrastructure as well as avoid costly service interruptions.

“The overriding benefit is real organizational savings through reduced borrowing costs, right-timed asset replacement, and reduced asset failures,” Arvin-Colón said.

Toward Standardization

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a list of ten generalized steps to build an asset management plan applicable to many different types of infrastructure. Several of these steps, however, are difficult to apply to stormwater infrastructure because of its highly situational and site-specific nature. The partnership’s work will aim to reconcile these mismatches, creating an approach by which stormwater organizations can develop practical asset management plans tailored to their needs.

Among specific project goals will be to devise common criteria and terminology to help infrastructure managers take stock of their existing assets as well as identify key performance metrics for each asset. The project also will produce tools that help users determine the inherent financial risks associated with each piece of stormwater infrastructure, currently a difficult task since no standardized, systematic long-term maintenance data collection procedures exist for many types of stormwater assets. Likewise, the project intends to define appropriate levels of service that infrastructure managers can use as performance targets, as well as identify informational needs to optimize operations and maintenance.

Results from the WEF Stormwater Institute’s 2020 MS4 Needs Assessment Survey underscore a pressing need among U.S. stormwater organizations for this type of information. Nearly 50% of respondents reported uncertainty regarding best practices for asset management. With about 2/3 of respondents describing aging infrastructure as their most significant challenge, robust asset management strategies are becoming even more important.

Become a Partner

Project administrators are currently seeking partners to help kickstart the initiative by providing data, feedback, and financial support. The total cost of the project is anticipated to be $125,000, with partnering organizations each investing $7,500.

Organizations who pledge an investment will play an active role in refining the scope of the research and reviewing its preliminary results. They will receive early access to all resources and materials produced as part of the initiative and be credited in the final products.

Several municipalities and utilities already have pledged their support for the project, including Austin, Texas; Fairfax County, Virginia; Gwinnett County, Georgia; and others.

“We feel there are many benefits to being part of the team, including firsthand interaction with your peers at other leading stormwater utilities and agencies, direct access to case studies and strategic stormwater asset management data that you can use as metrics for your own asset management programs,” said Mark Van Auken, Arcadis Stormwater Practice Leader. “Most importantly, it provides you an opportunity to be part of a national program that will drive needed improvement in the industry and help you optimize management and life-cycle costs of your stormwater assets.”

Interested organizations should contact Bianca Pinto, WEF Stormwater Institute Senior Manager, at bpinto@wef.org.

Learn more about the project by watching the video below:

Top image courtesy of Stevi Hunt-Cottrell/WEF

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Jacques is editor of Stormwater Report and a staff member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In addition to writing for WEF’s online publications, he also contributes to Water Environment & Technology magazine. Contact him at jjacques@wef.org.

The post WEF Stormwater Institute Seeks Collaborators on Asset Management appeared first on Stormwater Report.