Climate Change Impacts

• Pumping of storm runoff consumes energy. In communities where storm and sanitary sewers are combined, sending stormwater into the system may increase the energy needed to pump and treat wastewater.
• Where there is less runoff, less stormwater infrastructure needs to be built. This saves the energy and greenhouse gas emissions that would have been needed for construction.

Actions

• Integrated stormwater management planning helps achieve multiple objectives and minimizes environmental impacts. It is an important part of overall management of water and watersheds.
• Infiltration systems and pervious paving can reduce or eliminate runoff from sites.
• Trees and vegetation (e.g. urban forests) provide an evapo-transpiration function that can reduce runoff.
• Utilizing captured rainwater or stormwater for non-potable water uses (such as irrigation) reduces runoff and consumption of potable water.

Technologies

• Pervious paving, pavers, vegetated bioswales, etc.
• Sustainable Landscaping
• Green roofs can provide better stormwater management and reduced energy consumption of buildings in dense urban environments or for large roof expanses.
• Intelligent pump control software can help manage unpredictable stormwater flows to reduce overflows and reduce the negative impacts of combined sewers on wastewater treatment plants.