Projects

U.S. EPA National Community Decentralized Demonstration Project
Demonstrating Innovative Approaches to Distributed Storm Water Management in Northeast Ohio

CRWP recommends that members adopt zoning and stormwater management regulations facilitating the use of distributed stormwater practices to minimize the impacts of development. Distributed stormwater practices include riparian and wetland setbacks, conservation design, bioretention, alternative flow paths, vegetated swales, functioning open space, and other site design and stormwater best management practices that collectively serve to maintain, to the extent possible, the pre-development runoff hydrology of a site.

The purpose of this project is to address the barriers in Northeast Ohio to the widespread implementation of this approach to site design and stormwater management. The barriers to widespread application of distributed stormwater management in Northeast Ohio include:

• Lack of Guidance for Distributed Stormwater Management: Developers and community engineers, planners, and other professional advisors, are reluctant to use distributed stormwater management techniques without guidance and technical support specific to the climate and soil conditions of Northeast Ohio.
  
• Minimal Flexibility in Local Codes to Allow Distributed Stormwater Management : Developers and engineers interested in distributed stormwater management are constrained by existing zoning codes that may not allow for alternative site layouts, currently require enclosed drainage channels, and provide little or no provisions for stormwater quality management.
  
• Lack of Demonstration Sites of Distributed Controls: To date a handful of projects in Northeast Ohio have implemented distributed stormwater controls. These projects have been limited to public or “green” projects and have not addressed the time, planning, and cost limitations faced by most commercial and residential projects.

Working with our project partners, CRWP will address these barriers to distributed stormwater management through the following steps:

• Develop a design notebook for distributed stormwater management addressing Northeast Ohio concerns.
  
• Develop and assist with the adoption and implementation of local stormwater management, landscaping, zoning, and subdivision codes that support the application of distributed stormwater management techniques.
  
• Provide funding for the design, construction, and monitoring of demonstration projects highlighting various components of distributed stormwater management including site design and best management practice selection.
  
• Provide guidance on the funding of, and responsibility for, long-term operation and maintenance of distributed practices.
  
• Provide workshops, host site visits, and coordinate with Project partners for other targeted public education.

For more information on this project please contact Ratchel M. Webb at rmw@crwp.org or (440) 975-3870.