Water + Stormwater

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold five listening sessions to provide information to the public about a potential rule to strengthen stormwater regulations and to establish a comprehensive program for reducing stormwater from new development and redevelopment. These potential regulations would help to reduce stormwater discharges into waterways that can harm water quality.
 

ALPHARETTA, GA. — Mactec was retained by Lexington County, S.C., to enhance the county’s stormwater management program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance to help federal agencies minimize the impact of federal development projects on nearby water bodies. The guidance was issued in response to a change in law and an Executive Order signed by President Obama, which calls upon all federal agencies to lead by example to address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a survey to help strengthen stormwater regulations and reduce stormwater discharges from newly developed and redeveloped sites. The draft survey would require detailed information about stormwater management and control practices, local regulations, and baseline financial information.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a survey to help strengthen stormwater regulations and reduce stormwater discharges from newly developed and redeveloped sites. The draft survey would require detailed information about stormwater management and control practices, local regulations, and baseline financial information.

PHILADELPHIA — The city of Philadelphia announced a plan to spend $1.6 billion on best management practices such as rain gardens, green roofs, and porous pavement to manage stormwater and reduce combined sewer overflows, according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Botanic Garden produced an online video—Reduce Runoff: Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In—that highlights green techniques to help manage stormwater runoff. The film showcases green techniques that are being used in urban areas to reduce the effects of stormwater runoff on the quality of downstream receiving waters. The goal is to mimic the natural way water moves through an area before development by using design techniques that infiltrate, evaporate, and reuse runoff close to its source.

Working with a blank canvas for its new corporate headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn., AquaShield, Inc., is demonstrating a sustainable approach to water management by using various stormwater treatment and water conservation technologies for the new building and site design.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a targeted effort to apply more stringent controls on stormwater pollution in the Charles River watershed in Eastern Massachusetts, where stormwater containing high levels of phosphorus is a chief culprit in dramatic algae blooms—including toxic cyanobacteria—that have plagued the river in recent years. The EPA action will require certain industrial, commercial, and residential facilities in the towns of Milford, Franklin, and Bellingham, Mass., with two or more acres of impervious area (parking lots, roofs, roadways, et cetera) to operate under a Clean Water Act permit.