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Stormwater management is the process of managing excess precipitation, including snowmelt, to prevent damage to property and minimize pollution. It helps slow erosion and maintain ecological balance. Local weather and environmental conditions are considered when creating policies and procedures. National environmental agencies, such as the EPA, provide guidelines to improve uniform standards and keep waterways clean.
Stormwater management is a process that focuses on properly managing any form of precipitation that is not readily absorbed into the ground during some type of weather event. While stormwater is often viewed in terms of precipitation, this wastewater management process also applies to situations where snow melts and creates runoff on city streets and other environments. The goal of stormwater management is to treat excess water in a way that prevents damage to property and allows the water harvested elsewhere to be used efficiently.
There are several reasons why stormwater management is important to protect the environment. An advantage of this type of activity is that it is possible to slow down the rate of erosion which can result from the presence of excessive runoff. Erosion removes layers of soil and can, over time, undermine building foundations or make farmland unsuitable for cultivation. Diverting excess water helps minimize this gradual degradation and prevents properties from becoming desert.
Another benefit of effective stormwater management is that it helps limit the amount of pollution that can occur when excess water runs off into rivers and lakes. Often, municipal water treatment systems are equipped to receive and purify rainwater before it is released for any reason. This process means that the water is cleaned of any elements that could threaten the ecological balance of life in rivers and lakes, for the benefit of all who live in the area.
Effective stormwater management often involves considering local weather and environmental conditions and creating policies and procedures that make it possible to collect and treat stormwater. For example, areas where rainfall is heavy during a specific season may use slightly different procedures than an area where there is a large amount of snowmelt during one or two months of the year. Many approaches involve creating drainage systems that help carry stormwater to a facility where it is treated before being released into a local water body or recycled into an existing municipal water system.
In many countries, the stormwater management process is conducted by a national environmental agency. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States provides guidelines that help municipalities create and maintain effective stormwater treatment policies and procedures. Creating uniform standards throughout a county helps improve the chances that all bodies of water within a given nation will remain relatively unaffected by pollution. When stormwater management is combined with other types of wastewater management, such as treatment of manufacturing plant waste, the potential to keep waterways clean is greatly increased.
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