United States
     Environmental Protection
     Agency
        RESEARCH PROJECT
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
       Water Supply and Water Resources Division
         Urban Watershed Management Branch
PERFORMANCE TESTING OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
                                                                IMPACT STATEMENT
                                                    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  lacks
                                                    robust  data  documenting  the  performance  of  best
                                                    management practices (BMPs)  regarding  stormwater
                                                    management,  and  a clear understanding  of  the
                                                    performance  changes  associated with conditions.  By
                                                    generating these data, the  National  Risk Management
                                                    Research  Laboratory's Water   Supply  and  Water
                                                    Resources Division (WSWRD) of EPA's Office of Research
                                                    and  Development can facilitate the adoption   and
                                                    implementation  of  effective BMPs  for  stormwater
                                                    management. States,  local  utilities, governments,  and
                                                    other decision-making bodies are looking  to  EPA for
                                                    these data in order to establish  preferred  stormwater
                                                    management practices.
BACKGROUND:
WSWRD undertook field investigations attempting to document the performance of selected stormwater controls.
These efforts demonstrated the difficulties of collecting valid data in sufficient quantity to establish statistical confidence
in the reported performance. While the results strongly support the presumptive performance, they fail to establish the
capabilities at a known level of certainty. WSWRD concluded that it would only be possible to collect these data if the
management practice was designed and constructed to be monitored. The devices are in various stages of completion at
EPA's Edison Environmental Center (EEC), in Edison, New Jersey.

DESCRIPTION:
This  project performs controlled-condition  engineering evaluations documenting the performance of commonly
selected stormwater runoff  BMPs,  including rain gardens, permeable  pavement and swales. WSWRD  constructed
working examples of these BMPs at the EEC to facilitate performance monitoring as part of the design.
EPA GOAL: Goal #2 - Clean & Safe Water, Objective 2.1.1- Water Safe to Drink
ORD MULTI YEAR PLAN: Water Quality (WQ), Long Term Goal - WQ-2 Protection and Restoration of Aquatic Systems
RESEARCH PARTNERS:
Contractors: PARS Environmental, Inc.
Collaboration: Dr. Chris Obrupta, Rutgers University

EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS
This experiment is expected to produce data that will provide EPA with the ability to guide and support the states, local
utilities and governments, and other decision-making bodies in the design and performance evaluations of stormwater
management controls. The performance data from these stormwater management controls is necessary in considering
      National Risk Management Research Laboratory
      Water Supply and Water Resources Division

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the more cost effective distribution in the watershed to meet water quality objectives and the total maximum daily load
(TMDL).

OUTPUTS:
Current and expected project outputs include conference presentations, newsletter articles, science briefs, and journal
articles.

RESOURCES:
National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL): http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/
Urban Watershed Management Research: http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/

CONTACT:
Michael Borst, Principle Investigator - (732) 321-6631 or borst.mike@epa.gov
Steven Doub, Media Relations - (513) 569-7503 or doub.steven@epa.gov
Michelle Latham, Communications - (513) 569-7601 or latham.michelle@epa.gov

      National Risk Management Research Laboratory
      Water Supply and Water Resources Division
www.epa.gov/nrmrl
EPA/600/F-09/037
October 2009

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