Public Lab Wiki documentation



Stormwater Monitoring

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Current Stormwater Projects:

- New Orleans Stormwater Workshop Series

About Stormwater

The EPA defines Stormwater as "runoff [that] is generated from rain and snowmelt events that flow over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not soak into the ground." Some of the concerns of stormwater are that "the runoff picks up pollutants like trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt/sediment that can harm our rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal waters."

Stormwater is one of the pollutants that is regulated under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). "The NPDES stormwater program regulates some stormwater discharges from three potential sources: municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), construction activities, and industrial activities."

Monitoring for stormwater can be challenging. Monitoring activities could explore facets of stormwater such as:

  • The depth and duration of standing water in an area,
  • How much rainwater can be harvested from an area,
  • How much water can be absorbed by an area,
  • How different ground covers react to stormwater events, and
  • How well infrastructure is working to handle stormwater runoff.

This page was created to compile some activities, questions, updates and projects surrounding issues of stormwater. Click the links below to add to this growing resource!

Stormwater Activities

Purpose Category Status Author Time Difficulty Replications
Catch Basins 101: How to clean a catch basin with one person in 68 minutes. - - @dmunchak - - 0 replications: Try it »
How to visually document a site - - @stevie - - 1 replications: Try it »
Photo Documentation of Turbid Waters for Advocacy - - @gretchengehrke - - 0 replications: Try it »
Make an accurate soda bottle rain gauge - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »
Stormwater Workshop Two Report: Community Mapping - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »
Measuring water in a rain gauge - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »
Testing - water depth from camera image - - @chalmers - - 0 replications: Try it »
¿Cómo detectar abrillantadores ópticos (aguas residuales) yendo a un río? / How to detect optical brighteners (wastewater) going to a river? - - @alejobonifacio - - 0 replications: Try it »
Gathering rain data from weather underground - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »
Stormwater Workshop 3 Report: Designing a Stormwater Study - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »
Depth Sensor Proposal - - @danbeavers - - 1 replications: Try it »
How to report pollution entering your local stormwater system in the US - - @bhamster - - 0 replications: Try it »
How to determine peak discharge from drainage basin runoff - - @stevie - - 0 replications: Try it »

Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Title Author Updated Likes Comments
What can you do about oil in your ditch following a natural disaster when traditional resources/normal pathways are not available? @laurel_mire over 2 years ago 10
Where can you find historic flooding data? @stevie over 5 years ago 3
Who do you contact on stormwater concerns? @stevie almost 6 years ago 2
How do you keep storm drains clean? @stevie almost 6 years ago 1
What are sources of stormwater pollution? @stevie almost 6 years ago 2
Why is it important to keep storm drains clean? @stevie almost 6 years ago 1
Are there any good directions or materials for building rain gauges? @stevie almost 6 years ago 3
How do you build a rain barrel? @stevie over 4 years ago 1
How do I join a volunteer Disaster Response Team for flooding? @warren over 6 years ago 1
What tags are helpful for flood/disaster images? @zengirl2 over 6 years ago 0
Are there any exemptions under the NPDES? @stevie about 7 years ago 4
What types of NPDES permits are there? @stevie about 7 years ago 2
How is stormwater regulated? @stevie about 7 years ago 4
How does slope affect runoff calculations? @stevie about 7 years ago 1
Is there any way to figure out how much water can be absorbed by different ground covers? @stevie over 7 years ago 4


Updates

Title Author Updated Likes Comments
Impact of rainwater harvest on Agriculture and education @okellomanpeter about 2 years ago 2
The suspicious drain on the Suquía river @alejobonifacio over 2 years ago 1
Getting the scoop on Wastewater: Summary of a research area review @bhamster over 2 years ago 1
El desagüe sospechoso en el río Suquía @alejobonifacio over 2 years ago 1
What can you do about oil in your ditch following a natural disaster when traditional resources/normal pathways are not available? @laurel_mire over 2 years ago 10
EVENT: Wondering about Wastewater? Join us for a series of events to wrap up Public Lab’s latest research area review! @bhamster over 2 years ago 8
I asked an environmental planner, “What do you want people to know about stormwater?” @bhamster over 2 years ago 0
How to report pollution entering your local stormwater system in the US @bhamster over 2 years ago 5
Post your photos of possible wastewater pollution! / ¡Postea tus fotos de aguas posiblemente residuales! 📷 @bhamster over 2 years ago 2
¿Cómo detectar abrillantadores ópticos (aguas residuales) yendo a un río? / How to detect optical brighteners (wastewater) going to a river? @alejobonifacio over 2 years ago 7
Reviewing and refreshing the topic of wastewater @bhamster over 2 years ago 1
Event! Welcome to a public research area review on wastewater, July 27 @bhamster over 2 years ago 9
Summary of Water and Water community call @alejobonifacio over 2 years ago 0
Potholes in New Orleans Annotated Map Update @Rgaude almost 3 years ago 0
Potholes in New Orleans Balloon Mapping Experience @Rgaude almost 3 years ago 0
MapKnitter map of STEM Magnet Program for New Orleans Pothole Research @Rgaude almost 3 years ago 0
Cleaning Storm Drains @LivingstonChangeMakerClub almost 3 years ago 4
Seeking a Water Research Curation Fellow @bhamster almost 3 years ago 0
What actions can residents take to use environmental data to make an impact in their community? @jessicac over 4 years ago 4
Rain Garden: Finding a Location @k_c_s over 4 years ago 1
Environmental Study for flooding in the streets of New Orleans @JumpKitten8683 over 4 years ago 1
Rain-garden research update @TJohnson over 4 years ago 0
Blocking New Orleans Gutters @JumpKitten8683 over 4 years ago 0
Rain Garden and Runoff @k_c_s over 4 years ago 1


Project Pages

New Orleans Flood Sensing Project

Lead image from Commons Wikimedia