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Impediments and Solutions to Sustainable, Watershed-Scale Urban Stormwater Management: Lessons from Australia and the United States

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Abstract

In urban and suburban areas, stormwater runoff is a primary stressor on surface waters. Conventional urban stormwater drainage systems often route runoff directly to streams and rivers, thus exacerbating pollutant inputs and hydrologic disturbance, and resulting in the degradation of ecosystem structure and function. Decentralized stormwater management tools, such as low impact development (LID) or water sensitive urban design (WSUD), may offer a more sustainable solution to stormwater management if implemented at a watershed scale. These tools are designed to pond, infiltrate, and harvest water at the source, encouraging evaporation, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and re-use of stormwater. While there are numerous demonstrations of WSUD practices, there are few examples of widespread implementation at a watershed scale with the explicit objective of protecting or restoring a receiving stream. This article identifies seven major impediments to sustainable urban stormwater management: (1) uncertainties in performance and cost, (2) insufficient engineering standards and guidelines, (3) fragmented responsibilities, (4) lack of institutional capacity, (5) lack of legislative mandate, (6) lack of funding and effective market incentives, and (7) resistance to change. By comparing experiences from Australia and the United States, two developed countries with existing conventional stormwater infrastructure and escalating stream ecosystem degradation, we highlight challenges facing sustainable urban stormwater management and offer several examples of successful, regional WSUD implementation. We conclude by identifying solutions to each of the seven impediments that, when employed separately or in combination, should encourage widespread implementation of WSUD with watershed-based goals to protect human health and safety, and stream ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

The analysis and opinions in this article were generated by the authors based on years of experience working with scientists, watershed groups, government officials, and other stakeholders. We greatly appreciate the insights and interactions of our colleagues, collaborators, and acquaintances, which have played an essential role in shaping this manuscript. Thoughtful reviews by Derek Booth and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent EPA policy.

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Author notes

  1. Christopher J. Walsh

    Present address: School of Social and Environmental Enquiry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    Allison H. Roy, William D. Shuster & Hale W. Thurston

  2. River Basin Center, Odum School of Ecology, The University of Georgia, 110 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Seth J. Wenger

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Institute for Sustainable Water Resources, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Tim D. Fletcher & Anthony R. Ladson

  4. Water Studies Centre and School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Christopher J. Walsh

  5. School of Geography and Environmental Science, Institute for Sustainable Water Resources, Monash University, P.O. Box 11a, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Rebekah R. Brown

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Correspondence to Allison H. Roy.

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Roy, A.H., Wenger, S.J., Fletcher, T.D. et al. Impediments and Solutions to Sustainable, Watershed-Scale Urban Stormwater Management: Lessons from Australia and the United States. Environmental Management 42, 344–359 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-008-9119-1

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