Research to highlight decentralized stormwater management

ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 1, 2008 -- The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) is requesting proposals for research that will provide education, outreach, and training on decentralized stormwater management techniques to critical target audiences in order to:

• supplement existing stormwater management approaches;
• create more hydrologically functional site designs;
• provide new tools for urban retrofit;
• reduce the overall design, construction, and maintenance costs of the stormwater management infrastructure;
• help address larger watershed-scale goals.

WERF will provide $112,000 for the development of innovative tools and training that lead to greater awareness, understanding, and use of decentralized stormwater management techniques; appropriate implementation for stormwater management; improved water quality; energy savings; and other benefits (e.g. aesthetics).

Traditionally, management of urban stormwater runoff utilized efficient drainage and conveyance systems, along with centralized treatment such as stormwater management ponds. Due to growing concerns about the economic and environmental sustainability of conventional management approaches, the public and private sector are working on alternative decentralized stormwater techniques, including low impact development (LID) and green infrastructure.

Although decentralized stormwater techniques are gaining wider adoption, there are still many potential stakeholders who are not fully aware of the variety, design and benefits of these techniques.

Decentralized approaches manage stormwater at the source (site level) using multiple techniques to control the quality and quantity of stormwater runoff. These methods include rain gardens, porous pavement, cisterns, vegetated roofs, and many other practices. These techniques offer a multitude of other potential benefits including beneficial reuse of stormwater for landscape irrigation to special purposes in buildings (e.g. toilet flushing); urban ecological restoration; and combined sewer overflow (CSO) reduction.

Proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. (EDT), June 20, 2008. Visit WERF's Open RFPs page (http://www.werf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Open_RFPs) for more information, as well as complete instructions and associated forms for preparing proposals. Please contact Program Manager Jane Casteline at [email protected] for more information on this research effort or the proposal process.

The Water Environment Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps utilities and corporations preserve the water environment and protect human health by providing science and technology for enhanced management of our water resources.

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