Stormwater Management Funding

The Clean Water Act requires all cities to manage stormwater — rain water that runs off of impervious surfaces and often overwhelms water and sewer systems. Poorly managed stormwater runoff leads to flooding and polluted waterways, particularly in older cities with aging water infrastructure and combined stormwater and sewer overflow (CSO) systems. Stormwater is managed through both gray infrastructure, such as underground pipes and tunnels, and green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, bioswales, and other nature-based approaches to reducing water flow.

Funding Sources

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Additional Resources

Case Studies

The Clean Water Act requires all cities to manage stormwater — rain water that runs off of impervious surfaces and often overwhelms water and sewer systems. Poorly managed stormwater runoff leads to flooding and polluted waterways, particularly in older cities with aging water infrastructure and combined stormwater and sewer overflow (CSO) systems. Stormwater is managed through both gray infrastructure, such as underground pipes and tunnels, and green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, bioswales, and other nature-based approaches to reducing water flow.

Intentional policies — from housing to transportation to land use — have led cities to develop in such a way as to place low-income people and communities of color at risk of flooding and water pollution. Deteriorating neighborhood infrastructure and aging homes increase residents’ vulnerability. Focusing stormwater management in low-income communities can mitigate flooding, clean waterways, improve air quality, and provide recreational amenities to residents.

The primary funding sources, outside of municipal budgets, include local or regional water utility revenue and federal and state green infrastructure funding. Maintenance is generally funded through municipal budgets and water utility revenues.

For more information on funding for flood prevention and disaster recovery, see the section on Climate Adaptation and Disaster Recovery.