What is a Stormwater BMP?
A stormwater BMP (Best Management Practice) is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a technique, measure, or structural control used to manage the quantity and improve the quality of stormwater runoff efficiently and cost-effectively. Rather than immediately channeling water off-site, these systems capture, detain, or infiltrate rainwater where it falls, reducing peak flows and removing pollutants. Stormwater BMPs can be structural, such as retention ponds and rain gardens, or non-structural, like street sweeping schedules and public education programs.
As urban areas expand, impervious surfaces like roads and rooftops increase runoff volume and speed, leading to erosion, sedimentation, and degraded waterways. Implementing stormwater BMPs preserves both built and natural environments by slowing runoff, promoting groundwater recharge, and filtering out contaminants before they reach streams and rivers.
Contact Evergreen Infrastructure today to learn how our stormwater BMP solutions can safeguard your property.
Types of Stormwater BMPs
Stormwater BMPs can be grouped into four primary categories, each targeting specific runoff challenges:
- Storage Practices: Retention and detention ponds, underground storage galleries, and cisterns capture and slowly release runoff to prevent downstream flooding.
- Vegetative Practices: Bioswales, rain gardens, green roofs, bioretention, and vegetated buffers use plants and soil media to absorb, infiltrate, and treat stormwater on-site.
- Filtration/Infiltration Practices: Porous pavements, infiltration trenches, proprietary filters, and sand filters remove pollutants by allowing water to percolate through filter media.
- Water-Sensitive Site Design: Low-impact development (LID) and better site design guidelines minimize impervious surfaces, preserve natural drainage patterns, and integrate BMPs seamlessly into landscapes.
Each of these stormwater BMP categories offers options that can be tailored to local soil conditions, rainfall patterns, and regulatory requirements.
Contact Evergreen Infrastructure for expert guidance on selecting and installing the right combination of stormwater BMPs for your project.
Impact on Sustainable Development
Incorporating stormwater BMPs into development projects yields significant ecological, regulatory, and social advantages:
- Flood Mitigation: By attenuating peak runoff volumes, BMPs reduce the severity and frequency of downstream flooding events, protecting infrastructure and communities.
- Water Quality Improvement: BMPs remove sediments, nutrients, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other contaminants, safeguarding aquatic habitats and public health.
- Groundwater Recharge: Infiltration-based BMPs support aquifer replenishment, ensuring reliable baseflows for streams during dry spells and sustaining local water supplies.
- Regulatory Compliance & Incentives: Many jurisdictions mandate stormwater BMP installation under municipal stormwater permits.
- Habitat Creation & Aesthetics: Bioretention areas, buffer strips, and green roofs enhance site biodiversity, create urban green space, and improve property values through attractive landscape features.
- Long-Term Cost Savings: By reducing flood damage, erosion control costs, and water treatment fees, BMPs often pay for themselves over time through decreased maintenance and liability.
Reach out to Evergreen Infrastructure to explore stormwater BMP strategies that align with your sustainable development goals.
Economic and Community Impacts
Beyond environmental gains, stormwater BMPs deliver tangible economic and social returns:
- Reduced Infrastructure Costs: By slowing and infiltrating runoff onsite, BMPs can decrease the sizing requirements for underground pipes and retention basins, cutting capital expenditures.
- Job Creation: Designing, installing, and maintaining BMP systems supports local green‐infrastructure labor markets.
- Community Well-Being: Green spaces and water-cleaning features enhance neighborhood livability, providing recreational and educational opportunities, and fostering stewardship of local waterways.
- Property Value Uplift: Studies show proximity to well‐designed stormwater BMPs—like rain gardens and vegetated swales—can increase adjacent property values by improving curb appeal and mitigating flood risks.
Discover how Evergreen Infrastructure’s stormwater BMP solutions can deliver both environmental stewardship and economic benefits to your next project.
Implementation and Maintenance
Effective stormwater BMP implementation requires more than just installation—it demands proper design, regular maintenance, and performance monitoring. Evergreen Infrastructure offers tailored service plans that include routine inspections, sediment removal, and vegetation management to ensure your stormwater BMPs continue performing as intended. Our team leverages the latest modeling tools and resilient design principles to adapt BMPs for both everyday runoff and storm surge events.
Our adaptive management approach includes quarterly or annual reporting on key indicators, such as runoff volume reduction, pollutant load removal, and infiltration rates, so you can verify compliance with local permits and quantify environmental benefits. We also offer training workshops for on-site staff to perform basic maintenance tasks, extend BMP lifespans, and reduce service costs.
Get in touch with Evergreen Infrastructure to set up an EverCare® plan and maximize the lifespan and effectiveness of your stormwater BMPs.
Reliable Stormwater BMPs and Maintenance, Every Time
Stormwater BMPs are foundational to sustainable development, offering a multifaceted approach to flood mitigation, water-quality protection, and ecosystem support. Yet, their long-term success hinges on expert engineering and conscientious maintenance. Evergreen Infrastructure stands at the forefront of stormwater management, delivering end-to-end solutions—from design and installation to ongoing maintenance—to ensure your projects not only meet regulatory requirements but also advance environmental stewardship.
Contact Evergreen Infrastructure today for a customized BMP consultation and maintenance plan. Visit us online or call us at (615) 633-1353