Construction and Development

More than 2 million acres of fields and forests are converted to suburban and urban land uses in the U.S. every year, exposing bare soil to the elements.

Rainstorms, washing over bare ground, erodes precious topsoil, carrying more than 80 million tons of sediment into our streams, rivers and lakes each year.  Sediment levels can rise anywhere from 2 to 40,000 times over pre-construction levels, placing excessive sediment among the top water pollutants.  When construction is completed, the newly created impervious surfaces add even more stormwater to our already fragile water resources.  Combined with the sediment pollution, increased volumes of stormwater erode channels, destroy habitats, kill fish and cause expensive and damaging floods.

Environmental site design:  Reducing the devastating impacts caused by stormwater starts with the design process.  By limiting the amount of impervious surfaces in a development and mimicking natural processes, developers can stop stormwater before it starts – protecting our water resources and saving lives and money.

Erosion and sediment control:  By reducing the amount and length of time that soils are exposed to erosive conditions, preventing soil loss, and capturing sediment and stormwater onsite, there are a host of practices that can be employed during active construction to protect our water resources.

Get the Dirt Out: While all U.S. states and the EPA require developers to obtain permits to reduce active construction pollution, these permits are often ineffective.  Permit requirements may be ignored or not enforced, or the erosion and sediment control practices implemented may be inappropriate, inadequate or poorly maintained.  With lax inspection and enforcement programs by local and state agencies, these permits are failing to prevent construction stormwater pollution.  But in some regions, Waterkeeper organizations are leading the charge to identify and report problem construction sites. 

Construction & Development Stormwater Resources

Erosion Control: The Official Journal of the International Erosion Control Association

United States Environmental Protection Agency:
Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan guidance, examples and state manuals

Waterkeeper Alliance and NRDC’s Proposal to EPA on Effluent Limitation Guidelines for the Construction and Development Industry

ECONorthwest’s The Economics of Low Impact Development: A Literature Review