Stormwater Management

This Handbook has been prepared as a general guide to the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of constructed wetlands for the treatment of domestic wastewater, agricultural wastewater, coal mine drainage, and stormwater runoff in the mid-Atlantic region; the Handbook is not a design manual.

Fact sheet about the benefits of bioswales and key tips for designing them.

A bioswale or vegetated swale is a form of bioretention used to partially treat water quality, attenuate flooding potential and convey stormwater away from critical infrastructure. These systems are linear, with length to width dimensions much greater than the more typical 2:1 applied to bioretention cells.

Chapter on infiltration berms in Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual.

Chapter about pervious pavement—pavement that allows stormwater to soak through and be absorbed by the ground rather than flowing along the road surface—in the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual.

Chapter about infiltration basins in the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs guide.

Chapters about infiltration trenches and beds in Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual. They help store and absorb overflow runoff during storms.

Chapter in Pennsylvania Stormwater BMP guide about rain gardens, which are areas planted with native vegetation to absorb stormwater.

Chapter of Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual about vegetated swales, channels planted with trees, shrubs, or grasses to infiltrate runoff.

Short guide about green roofs, from the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual.

Chapter of Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual describing riparian buffers, forested areas along waterways that filter pollutants and control flooding.

The purpose of this guide is to assist EPA, states and local governments in developing new or improving existing long-term stormwater plans that inform stormwater management implemented by communities on the ground. The document describes how to develop a comprehensive long-term community stormwater plan that integrates stormwater management with communities’ broader plans for economic development, infrastructure investment and environmental compliance.

Constructed wetlands are shallow marsh systems planted with emergent vegetation that are designed to treat stormwater runoff. This chapter of the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMPs Manual describes them in detail.

Guide provides information about how constructed wetlands work, as well as tips for site selection, design, and monitoring.

Presentation on stormwater management programs.

Fact sheets explain two important nature-based solutions to stormwater and flooding: bioswales and storm basins.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about trail development and permitting for PA Code, Title 25, Chapter 102 - Erosion and Sediment Control, and Chapter 105 - Dam Safety and Waterway Management.

These guidelines were prepared in conjunction with the Monocacy Creek Watershed Act 167 Stormwater Management Plan Update (2017). The guidelines are important for reinforcing the message of the outstanding natural resources present in the Lehigh Valley and their wide variety of essential services and benefits to local residents and visitors, describing the best practices available for community and site design to preserve or enhance those resources, and defining improved stormwater management site design practices to better mimic natural systems. The guidelines provide 1) an overview of green infrastructure at a regional scale and the associated benefits and 2) engineering guidance for site-specific stormwater management practices to help designers understand and comply with the water balance and green infrastructure provisions of the updated Act 167 Ordinance.

Outlines various green infrastructure techniques and their benefits, along with links to other resources. Includes color photos.

EPA has developed innovative models, tools, and technologies for communities to manage water runoff in urban and other environments. The resources in this toolkit incorporate green or a combination of green and gray infrastructure practices to help communities manage their water resources in a more sustainable way, increasing resilience to future changes.

This document provides approaches local government officials and municipal program managers (Figure 1) in small to midsize communities can use to incorporate green infrastructure components into work they are doing in public spaces. The guide demonstrates ways in which projects can be modified relatively easily and at a low cost recognizing that municipal resources can be limited.

This presentation focuses on water quality and land development ordinances.

Series of short guides that describe the benefits of green streets and parking lots, and explore tools such as permeable pavement, rain gardens, and more.

Guide provides founding principles for planning, siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of constructed treatment wetlands.

Two-page fact sheet outlining the basics of maintaining infiltration berms.

Fact sheet describing pros and cons of infiltration trenches, as well as BMPs and design considerations.

Answers to frequently asked questions about municipal stormwater planning, including MS4 compliance.

Establishing a value for water resources in a particular community—taking into account ecological, economic, social and quality-of-life considerations—can help inform integrated planning decisions and support communication with stakeholders. This document displays some of the ways to characterize and quantify the value of water, and to apply that value to inform integrated wastewater and stormwater planning.

Presentation in conjunction with LID/Stormwater issues

This presentation focuses on municipal stormwater management solutions.

This guidance helps citizens and municipalities in urban areas protect bodies of water from polluted runoff that can result from everyday activities. These scientifically sound techniques are the best practices known today. The guidance will also help states to implement their nonpoint source control programs and municipalities to implement their Phase II Storm Water Permit Programs.

Outlines design criteria for various types of stormwater infiltration basins.

The case study focuses on efforts in the Harrisburg area to implement cost-effective stormwater reduction strategies -- with some focus on the use of education and outreach tools, as well as stormwater monitoring techniques.

This report describes how communities can use stakeholder input to select and rank criteria and apply those criteria to prioritize stormwater and wastewater projects. Three case studies illustrate this process.

Many communities face complex challenges operating their wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, including meeting Clean Water Act (CWA) obligations under financial constraints. Communities with multiple CWA obligations for their wastewater treatment plants, sewer systems and stormwater infrastructure must prioritize their investments. In addition, they must evaluate different approaches and options for improving their systems, including gray, green and data infrastructure investments. Integrated planning is the process of systematically identifying and prioritizing actions and projects to meet CWA obligations. EPA released the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework to provide guidance on developing integrated plans. The framework identifies the operating principles and essential elements of an integrated plan. It also encourages communities to work with stakeholders to identify and evaluate options to respond to CWA requirements. This report focuses on the essential element of public outreach in the integrated planning process. Two case studies illustrate this process.

Rain barrel ordinance for Reading, Pennsylvania. Encourages and provides guidelines for the use of rain barrels by residents and businesses.

Parks have long played an integral role in community landscapes. As open green space becomes more scarce, public park agencies have new opportunity and reasons to work with other departments and agencies to utilize protected public green space in innovative ways. Designing new or existing parks to manage stormwater using green infrastructure principles is an ideal way to realize many of these benefits. Green stormwater infrastructure installations can be used to revitalize existing parks or enhance the design and functionality of new parks.

StormwaterPA.org provides several dozen videos showcasing best management practices by individuals, organizations and municipalities in Pennsylvania. The site also includes general information, links to municipal stormwater ordinances and a "find your watershed" function.

Guide to planting and managing trees in urban environments.

Trees in the urban environment can provide many benefits; however, urban tree programs face numerous challenges that can affect their success. This technical memorandum addresses planting and maintaining trees which are adjacent to roadways or sidewalks in urban areas where buildings and impervious surfaces create harsh environments. These street trees can be planted for many reasons including stormwater management or increased shade and green space.

Fact sheet investigating new innovations in stormwater management

Parking is essential for economic growth and business success. Almost every development in Montgomery County includes a parking lot. They play a major role in how our communities look and the quality of the environment. Unfortunately, parking lots can pollute stormwater runoff and increase local flooding. They can pose safety issues for pedestrians and can aggravate the urban heat island effect. For something that occupies such a vast amount of land, causes various impacts, and is used on a daily basis by so many people, the surface parking lot should receive more attention than it has. Parking lots can be retrofitted or built more sustainably. Using innovative site design, including best practices in stormwater management, consideration for community character, and safer pedestrian connections, we can transform our parking lots and reduce impacts. By incorporating green and sustainable practices, over time these improvements could have a significant positive impact on the county’s communities.

Presentation regarding Low Impact Development & Stormwater Management Technical Training

Green infrastructure is a network of decentralized stormwater management practices such as preservation of undeveloped areas near a water source, green roofs, tree planting, rain gardens and permeable pavement. This paper gives an overview of the methods used to measure the benefits of green infrastructure on water, energy savings, improved air quality, climate change mitigation, urban heat island mitigation, improved community livability and improved habitat. Multiple case studies are provided.

List of best practices to ensure that parks and recreation sites and environmentally sustainable.

List of effective nature-based stormwater management practices including riparian buffers, pervious pavement, trees, and bioswales.

These underutilized commercial centers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are simply outdated while others have been converted to non-traditional retail uses or remain vacant. Fortunately, greyfields offer an opportunity for a municipality to rethink and repurpose these areas to become strong financial assets and centers of their community. Adaptive reuse and redevelopment of struggling properties is not a new concept, but as properties age and demand for brick-and-mortar retail stores declines it becomes more important to consider these options. Introducing a mixture of uses and experience-based retail in greyfields, and incorporating green infrastructure and renewable energy, can begin to revitalize these centers.

Ordinance regulating stormwater management and steep slopes in Upper Dublin Township (Montgomery County). The minimum lot size requirement increases as the average slope increases.

Chapter of Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual about filter strips, which are densely vegetated areas between pavement that absorb runoff.

Short fact sheet explaining the benefits of vegetated filter strips, when and where to use them, and how to design them.

Design manual for constructed wetlands.

The most effective tools to reduce the water pollution and flooding caused by stormwater runoff are green infrastructure, land conservation, and best management practices on farms. (Print version of ConservationTools.org guide)