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Caught in the middle of the stormwater runoff issue are “urbanized” municipalities, including most boroughs and townships in eastern Cumberland County in Pennsylvania, which are required to reduce stormwater pollution by 60 percent by 2025. There are ways to mitigate the cost through intermunicipal cooperation, Kirk Stoner said, and the county has organized a working group involving all the municipalities required to complete a pollution reduction plan.

The State of California has released a film series to bring to life simple practices that individuals and communities can do to become stewards of their watersheds and slow the flow of stormwater from homes and businesses when the rain returns. “When much of California is facing drought and limited water supplies, capturing and reusing every drop of water will not only be clever, but crucial,” wrote Paula Luu.

“Capturing rainwater where if falls offers appealing technical alternatives to stormwater runoff capture than conventional end-of-pipe measures. Decentralized controls have the potential to reduce the frequency and volume of CSO events. In addition, a decentralized approach to stormwater management allows communities the flexibility to respond to everchanging economic and environmental conditions,” stated Neil Weinsten.

“While ‘grey’ or traditional infrastructure remains an essential part of safe and effective design for flood control and urban watershed management, it is no longer the only tool in the toolbox. Green infrastructure systems, by contrast, harness natural processes to infiltrate, recharge, evaporate, harvest and reuse stormwater,” writes Laura Tam.

“This new regulatory framework will transform the District’s impervious areas into a more river-friendly landscape. It is a critical step toward making District waterbodies more usable and attractive,” said Keith Anderson.

“The rule is expected to place more emphasis on using green infrastructure. EPA will need to put something out soon so that all sides are at least debating a specific proposal rather than speculating on its content,” concludes Janice Kaspersen.

“The projected rulemaking addresses a number of key areas of action, particularly the implementation of a specific on-site performance standard in new and redeveloped sites as projects are built. This include establishing a single set of stormwater requirements for all municipal separate sewer systems,” writes Art Haddaway.

“But have you paid attention to what might be leaking off your property when it rains? In the dark ages of subdivision design, rain that fell on roofs, patios and oil-stained driveways was treated as the enemy,” writes Billy Goodnick.

“Rain gardens are being embraced worldwide because they do their job so well. The worry is that these same, very efficient rain gardens that are cropping up in our parking strips and front yards are doing their job so well that they could become residential toxic sites. But in fact are they? Not according to the research that’s available,” writes Lisa Stiffler.

“Rooftops to Rivers II profiles the approaches taken by 14 cities in the US and Canada, revealing just how far the use of green infrastructure has spread and just how adaptable it is,” writes Noah Garrison.