Towards Greener Stormwater Management

Abstract In the past decade, the focus of stormwater management has moved from a more traditional paradigm to a variety of more ecologically sensitive, “green” stormwater solutions. Because of an increased ecological focus, stormwater management techniques are no longer selected from a one-size-fits-all toolkit, making adjustments only for storage and transport volumes to account for local differences in rainfall and contributing area. Instead, the current generation of stormwater managers has a wealth of options from which to choose, leading to solutions that need to be specifically formulated for or adapted to local soils, ecotypes, topography, and meteorology. Furthermore, there has also been a move away from the more traditional engineered systems toward an increased multi-disciplinary approach. As a result, stormwater can no longer be managed as an afterthought to development. Instead, stormwater managers and developers need to be communicating throughout the design process. This combination of an ev...