New study to help municipalities decide best planning tools to protect waterways from polluted runoff

A unique new study to protect urban waterways from pollution caused by stormwater runoff will be undertaken by Colorado State University.

The university’s Urban Water Center was awarded a contract valued at $800,000 to develop effective planning tools for municipalities to improve stormwater drainage. The Water Environment Research Foundation, based in Alexandria, Va., is funding the project.

In the new study, researchers will analyze if best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater pollution control are directly linked to improved water quality in streams, according to Larry Roesner, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Urban Water Center.

Harmful pollutants such as fertilizers, pesticides, automobile products, pet waste – and even antibiotics used by humans and animals – can be carried by stormwater into lakes, rivers and streams.

The study aims to help local governments make better decisions, based on factual findings, when it comes to the types of BMPs that are approved and used.

Roesner said he is excited about the study, calling it “the culmination of what I’ve been doing my whole career.”  Since 1970, Roesner has specialized in urban hydrology and nonpoint source pollution control.  In 1990, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a nationally recognized expert in the development and application of hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality simulation models

The university plans to hire subcontractors, including CDM, CH2MHill and Geosyntec to provide expertise for the study.  And stormwater management agencies in Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia are volunteering to participate.

“Some metropolitan stormwater agencies have experience with state-of-the art controls that are used to meet water quality standards.  Denver and Philadelphia, in particular, are leaders in this area,” Roesner said.  “However, they and most other American municipalities lack the planning tools to determine which controls work best in a given situation, how many are required in a river basin, and what is the whole-life cost to the agency for implementing these controls.”

Roesner said he expects it will take three to six years to complete the study.