Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Section XII
Math Concepts:
Stormwater Engineering
“Come Watson, Come! The Game is afoot!' …” (Doyle, 1930). Wayne County has operated an illicit
Connection and Discharge Elimination Program for over 15 years. Its staff has gained valuable investi-
gative expertise by experimenting with many different methods, committing lots of trial and error, and
having a little bit of luck. Investigating for illicit discharges in the field is very similar to Holmes and
Watson solving a case—it requires a mix of science, detection, deduction, and persistence.
—Dean Tuomari and Susan Thompson
Wayne County Department of Environment, Wayne, MI
As human activities alter the watershed landscape, adverse impacts to receiving waters my result from
changes in the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff. Rain (and snow) falling onto the surface of
unmanaged urbanizing watersheds results in a predictable increase in the quantity of runoff (and snow-
melt) volume flowing to receiving waters. If left unmanaged, the hydraulic impacts (e.g., flooding, ero-
sion, channelization) associated with the increased water volumes may be several orders of magnitude
higher than that of the undisturbed watershed. In addition to causing runoff volume impacts, stormwa-
ter can also be a major nonpoint pollution source in many watersheds.
—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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