The Stormwater Blog

Civil engineers understand the delicate balance between form and function. High-rate bioretention systems, known for their efficiency in managing stormwater, offer an often overlooked benefit: aesthetics. Integrating visually appealing bioretention systems into urban landscapes can enhance community engagement, foster sustainability, and improve the overall perception of civil infrastructure.

Hydrodynamic Separators (HDS) have been a staple in stormwater management for over twenty years. Choosing the right HDS unit for your project can be challenging, but understanding key design considerations can help guide you through the process. This blog post reviews several important factors to consider when sizing your HDS unit.

Hydrodynamic separators (HDS) are increasingly recognized as essential components in modern stormwater management systems. These devices effectively remove pollutants from stormwater runoff, helping to protect water quality and meet regulatory requirements. However, the successful implementation of HDS requires careful consideration of various design factors. This article outlines best practices for engineers to ensure the effective performance and longevity of hydrodynamic separators.

In stormwater management, manufactured treatment devices (MTDs) are often recognized as innovative solutions for controlling runoff and enhancing water quality. Yet, despite their growing adoption, several misconceptions about these devices persist, leading to confusion and misinformed decisions. This blog will tackle some of the most prevalent myths surrounding MTDs, shedding light on their true capabilities and effectiveness.

Given the pivotal role civil engineers play in designing and implementing infrastructure, a deep understanding of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and contributes to the broader goals of environmental stewardship and public health. This post provides detailed insights into the triggers, development, and implementation of TMDLs, emphasizing the integral role civil engineers have in achieving and maintaining water quality standards.

Proper maintenance is hands-down the most important factor in the sustainability of any infiltration system. By their very nature, infiltration systems are difficult to inspect and maintain. The selection of a cost-effective and easy-to-access pretreatment system can mean a huge difference in maintenance expenses for years to come.

In civil engineering and stormwater management, a design storm refers to a specific rainfall event defined and described by the statistical likelihood of the event occurring in a given rainfall year. Design storms are used as a standard for designing and evaluating stormwater infrastructure. For example, local stormwater standards commonly call out the 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100-year storm events and the water quality storm event for a given geography, each of which plays a role in the design and implementation of stormwater infrastructure.

Where are you buying structural backfill these days? Is what you need readily available, or are you looking outside your area and/or waiting an extended time for delivery? With available land space continuing to decrease, stormwater detention/retention is commonly being designed underground. The current construction boom and increasing detention volume requirements have made rock scarce and expensive in many parts of the country.

We are an industry of abbreviations and acronyms. The terms we use daily can sometimes hold a general or broad meaning in our minds, but the actual definition.

As we return to work after the Christmas break, we can’t help but look forward to 2023 and what the future holds for stormwater management. We reached out to several Contech associates to get their insight. Here is what they had to say.