Urban Stormwater Management in the United States

The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 The Challenge of Regulating Stormwater 3 Hydrologic, Geomorphic, and Biological Effects of Urbanization on Watersheds 4 Monitoring and Modeling 5 Stormwater Management Approaches 6 Innovative Stormwater Management and Regulatory Permitting Appendix A Acronyms Appendix B Glossary Appendix C Summary of Responses from State Stormwater Coordinators Appendix D Biographical Information for the Committee on Reducing Stormwater Discharge Contributions to Water Pollution