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Redirecting Stormwater Runoff08-29-13 | News

Redirecting Stormwater Runoff

Government entities across the country are revising rules and creating new ones to help move stormwater management in the right direction:

To settle a longstanding lawsuit, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed to withdraw a numeric limit developed to control stormwater runoff from construction sites.

To further encourage urban redevelopment over new construction, the agency is crafting new rules that would impose more severe stormwater retention requirements on newly developed urban sites than those applied to redevelopment projects.

After extensive modeling, the Washington State Department of Ecology designated DeepRoot's Silva Cells as a certified stormwater management solution, claiming that the new system can have as much impact as a bio-retention facility.

The board of commissioners in Charles County, Md., approved an increase of the annual environmental services fee on property owners. This "rain tax" went from $14 to $43 and the monies collected will fund a stormwater management program mandated by the state.

In an attempt to decrease water runoff from driveways, the City Council of West Lake Hills, Texas, revised the city's code to include permeable pavement used in residential installations as an acceptable solution for water management.

To help handle surplus stormwater, New Orleans is considering developing new zoning regulations to require the use of water-holding and permeable materials for new streets, sidewalks and parking lots.