This is a report on mosquito breeding in bioswales in Delaware that Randy Greer of DNREC passed along to me recently. It offers some troubling data on potential mosquito production from these areas, and some prevention techniques.

You can never read too many papers on bioretention. This 2008 offering by Dr. Allan Davis at University of Maryland provides an excellent summary of the hydrologic performance of two test bioretention areas, based on monitoring of many, many storms. Click here.

The last paper is a notable contribution from our fellow Australian stormwater geeks that looks at "gross pollutants" in stormwater – things like trash, debris, floatables and the like. We are often so nutri-centric in the Bay watershed that we often overlook the massive loads of these pollutants. Not so our fellow citizens, who are astonished by the trashiness of urban stormwater while walking along the Baltimore or Anacostia waterfront. Click here to learn more about urban grossness.

This report details how California assessed compliance levels at thousands of stormwater hotspots across many different industrial sectors. The report, prepared by Tetra- tech, chronicles the spotty compliance record at most industrial NPDES stormwater sites, but also documents on how it markedly improved after site audits, inspections and technical assistance were applied. Since we don't do such a great job in inspecting stormwater hotspots in the Bay watershed, folks may want to click here to find out ways to improve our game.

Product substitution is one of the most effective stormwater pollution control tools that we have, but we rarely wield it. Think for a minute about the dramatic reductions in lead concentrations in stormwater runoff that were achieved by the introduction of unleaded gasoline.

Click to read more ...

A paper by Bill Selbig and his colleagues in Wisconsin summarizes a six-year paired monitoring study of a traditional subdivision versus a subdivision that was designed with LID practices. The results indicate a significantly different hydrological response from the LID subdivision. Click here for a copy.

This long-awaited paper summarizes one of the nation’s longest running LID research sites, the Jordan Cove Study. This updated review of the results of this landmark monitoring study can be accessed here.

This 2008 report released by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation looks at the feasibility of Low-Impact Development practices using three real world urban redevelopment project sites in Maryland. Modeling showed that these practices enabled dense urban mixed-use redevelopment projects in Maryland to capture and filter/ infiltrate substantial volumes of stormwater at reasonable costs when compared with conventional (non-green) solutions such as underground storage tanks. This is an important finding as Bay states struggle to define more stringent stormwater requirements for redevelopment projects. To get a copy of their study and modeling assumptions click here.