Designing Climate-Resilient Stormwater Management in Northeastern US Cities to Support Stream Ecosystems
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By Climate Adaptation Science Centers
December 31, 2023
Current stormwater management infrastructure and strategies in the northeastern US are built around historical weather data and not the weather that is expected with climate change, like more frequent extreme rainfall. This matters because stormwater can introduce pollution to streams and can cause flooding. Researchers supported by this Northeast CASC project will combine climate data, stormwater models, and data about urban streams to provide actionable information for managers to identify effective adaptation strategies for stormwater to protect lake and stream ecosystems in the northeastern US.
Stormwater, or rainfall that lands on rooftops and pavement and quickly drains away, transports pollution like excess sediment and phosphorus to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, and can also cause flooding. While urban communities have engineering and management strategies to deal with stormwater, those strategies are based on historical weather data, so they don't account for the extreme rainfall that is expected to occur more frequently with climate change. A major obstacle to adapting stormwater management strategies is that current infrastructure was built to be long-lasting, and it is difficult and expensive to replace. These challenges make it critical for managers to understand how climate change will impact their local communities and the effectiveness of different stormwater adaptation approaches.
The goal of this project is to bring together stormwater managers and decision-makers to learn from each other and identify the most effective strategies to adapt to climate change in the northeastern US. Researchers supported by this project will combine climate change data, numerical models of stormwater runoff, and information on how urban streams carry sediment and phosphorus to understand how climate change will impact urban streams in 6-10 cities across the region. They will also synthesize adopted and proposed climate adaptation strategies and assess whether strategies are transferable across different cities. Throughout the project, the team will discuss ideas and results directly with city stormwater managers, scientists, and engineers.
This project will produce a series of fact sheets and webinars evaluating potential stormwater climate adaptation strategies, tailored for cities across the northeastern US. Datasets and other actionable information will be shared with managers who make on-the-ground decisions to improve lake and stream ecosystems for the well-being of people who live around them.
Stormwater, or rainfall that lands on rooftops and pavement and quickly drains away, transports pollution like excess sediment and phosphorus to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, and can also cause flooding. While urban communities have engineering and management strategies to deal with stormwater, those strategies are based on historical weather data, so they don't account for the extreme rainfall that is expected to occur more frequently with climate change. A major obstacle to adapting stormwater management strategies is that current infrastructure was built to be long-lasting, and it is difficult and expensive to replace. These challenges make it critical for managers to understand how climate change will impact their local communities and the effectiveness of different stormwater adaptation approaches.
The goal of this project is to bring together stormwater managers and decision-makers to learn from each other and identify the most effective strategies to adapt to climate change in the northeastern US. Researchers supported by this project will combine climate change data, numerical models of stormwater runoff, and information on how urban streams carry sediment and phosphorus to understand how climate change will impact urban streams in 6-10 cities across the region. They will also synthesize adopted and proposed climate adaptation strategies and assess whether strategies are transferable across different cities. Throughout the project, the team will discuss ideas and results directly with city stormwater managers, scientists, and engineers.
This project will produce a series of fact sheets and webinars evaluating potential stormwater climate adaptation strategies, tailored for cities across the northeastern US. Datasets and other actionable information will be shared with managers who make on-the-ground decisions to improve lake and stream ecosystems for the well-being of people who live around them.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 6616f0c7d34e7eb9eb7d6e8e)
Current stormwater management infrastructure and strategies in the northeastern US are built around historical weather data and not the weather that is expected with climate change, like more frequent extreme rainfall. This matters because stormwater can introduce pollution to streams and can cause flooding. Researchers supported by this Northeast CASC project will combine climate data, stormwater models, and data about urban streams to provide actionable information for managers to identify effective adaptation strategies for stormwater to protect lake and stream ecosystems in the northeastern US.
Stormwater, or rainfall that lands on rooftops and pavement and quickly drains away, transports pollution like excess sediment and phosphorus to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, and can also cause flooding. While urban communities have engineering and management strategies to deal with stormwater, those strategies are based on historical weather data, so they don't account for the extreme rainfall that is expected to occur more frequently with climate change. A major obstacle to adapting stormwater management strategies is that current infrastructure was built to be long-lasting, and it is difficult and expensive to replace. These challenges make it critical for managers to understand how climate change will impact their local communities and the effectiveness of different stormwater adaptation approaches.
The goal of this project is to bring together stormwater managers and decision-makers to learn from each other and identify the most effective strategies to adapt to climate change in the northeastern US. Researchers supported by this project will combine climate change data, numerical models of stormwater runoff, and information on how urban streams carry sediment and phosphorus to understand how climate change will impact urban streams in 6-10 cities across the region. They will also synthesize adopted and proposed climate adaptation strategies and assess whether strategies are transferable across different cities. Throughout the project, the team will discuss ideas and results directly with city stormwater managers, scientists, and engineers.
This project will produce a series of fact sheets and webinars evaluating potential stormwater climate adaptation strategies, tailored for cities across the northeastern US. Datasets and other actionable information will be shared with managers who make on-the-ground decisions to improve lake and stream ecosystems for the well-being of people who live around them.
Stormwater, or rainfall that lands on rooftops and pavement and quickly drains away, transports pollution like excess sediment and phosphorus to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, and can also cause flooding. While urban communities have engineering and management strategies to deal with stormwater, those strategies are based on historical weather data, so they don't account for the extreme rainfall that is expected to occur more frequently with climate change. A major obstacle to adapting stormwater management strategies is that current infrastructure was built to be long-lasting, and it is difficult and expensive to replace. These challenges make it critical for managers to understand how climate change will impact their local communities and the effectiveness of different stormwater adaptation approaches.
The goal of this project is to bring together stormwater managers and decision-makers to learn from each other and identify the most effective strategies to adapt to climate change in the northeastern US. Researchers supported by this project will combine climate change data, numerical models of stormwater runoff, and information on how urban streams carry sediment and phosphorus to understand how climate change will impact urban streams in 6-10 cities across the region. They will also synthesize adopted and proposed climate adaptation strategies and assess whether strategies are transferable across different cities. Throughout the project, the team will discuss ideas and results directly with city stormwater managers, scientists, and engineers.
This project will produce a series of fact sheets and webinars evaluating potential stormwater climate adaptation strategies, tailored for cities across the northeastern US. Datasets and other actionable information will be shared with managers who make on-the-ground decisions to improve lake and stream ecosystems for the well-being of people who live around them.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 6616f0c7d34e7eb9eb7d6e8e)