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.

About the author

Summary

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. This book calls for a structure that puts authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at municipal level.

Product details

• Authors: Committee on Reducing Stormwater Dischar, Committee on Reducing Stormwater Discharge Contributions to Water Pollution, Division On Earth And Life Studies, National Research Council, Water Science And Technology Board
• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.09.2009
• EAN: 9780309125390
• ISBN: 978-0-309-12539-0
• No. of pages: 610
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 226 mm x 33 mm
• Weight: 953 g
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Ecology