Stormwater Management

Stormwater—the rainfall and other sources of water that are not absorbed by the ground—flows from areas such as streets, parking lots and roof drains on houses and other buildings.

Stormwater Management is a necessary component of urban infrastructure. In simple terms, precipitation that lands on the ground surface is distributed in several components.

• Infiltration: water that infiltrates into the ground
• Evapotranspiration: evaporates into the air or is consumed by plants
• Runoff: travels on the surface

In a natural setting, the presence of vegetation and the lack of hard surfaces means that a relatively small part of the rainfall produces runoff. In urban communities, the introduction of hard surfaces and the reduction in vegetation cover alter this proportion creating more runoff. Therefore, there is less infiltration and evapotranspiration.

Effective stormwater management is essential for the management of quantity and quality of runoff generated by our communities in order to prevent negative impacts.