The Stormwater Blog

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.

To help you navigate the plethora of information, we've curated a list of the top ten stormwater websites that every civil engineer should bookmark.

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.

On the rare occasion I get invited to a party, I like preparing topical jokes, funny anecdotes, and ways of explaining my job as a stormwater engineer that won’t instantly put the other guests to sleep. So when someone asks what I do, I usually pique their curiosity by answering, “I make the world a cleaner place, one storm at a time.” This usually gets a follow-up question about what that means or a confused look and a request to tell another joke about pineapples.

Proprietary stormwater treatment systems, or stormwater control measures (SCMs), offer several unique benefits compared to traditional land-based SCMs. Perhaps best known for their space-efficient design, making them well-suited and essential tools when managing stormwater runoff in ultra-urban environments, proprietary SCMs have several additional benefits discussed in this blog post.

Hydrodynamic separators are primarily designed to treat stormwater runoff by removing pollutants such as sediment, debris, oil, and grease. But what happens when tailwater conditions obstruct the flow?

Stormwater management is a critical aspect of sustainable urban development, and hydrodynamic separators (HDS) play a vital role in this process. In this blog post, we delve into the intricacies of HDS devices, looking at the different components, each serving a specific purpose in removing and retaining stormwater pollutants while adhering to hydraulic requirements.

As stormwater quality regulations become increasingly stringent, civil engineers are turning to stormwater filtration Best Management Practices (BMPs) to meet the demand for higher pollutant removal efficiency. In this blog post, we will explore the fundamentals of stormwater filtration, focusing on pollutant removal mechanisms, sizing methods, filtration mediums, and the advantages of proprietary systems.

Red flags are design elements that are commonly or easily overlooked and may need extra attention when designing. Considering the red flags upfront will expedite the design and fabrication process, and eliminate delays, installation, and performance issues.

The terms “high-rate biofiltration” and “runoff reduction” aren’t often used in the same sentence. The engineering community has a preconceived notion that a high-rate biofilter with an underdrain (like Filterra®) can’t provide runoff reduction benefits because the stormwater it treats moves through the practice too quickly. However, with the proper design considerations, we can maximize the capability of a high-rate biofilter to provide appreciable runoff reduction.