Stormwater is the Chesapeake Bay’s top leading source of pollution. Run-off contributes 17% of total polluting phosphorous, 11% of the nitrogen, and 9% of the sediment pollution reaching the bay. Stormwater is an important concern because the water goes untreated. In this article, Lara Lutz describes how developers in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania are faced with the challenge of complying with the new stormwater rules covering development sites. The Stormwater Management Act of 2007 set Federal pollution limits for runoff, also called Total Maximum Daily Loads. In January the EPA announced plans to write federal stormwater regulations for the Bay’s watershed. Because these ideas and developmental issues are new, no one really has an idea if these new rules will increase budget prices. Many developers and local governments have delayed action because of these price concerns.
A new design that engineers have come up with is called an Environmental Site Design. ESD’s capture stormwater on-site rather than water making its way through gutters and curbs. In Maryland, new development sites with ESD’s should capture and absorb 100% of stormwater. Some studies have been done where ESD’s are present to show how costly the design is to implement. In 1997 Delaware did a study and the results were that ESD’s often save money. In 2007, EPA compared 17 sites nationwide and found that ESD’s raised costs in a few areas but the vast majority cut costs 15-18%. In 2008, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation found that ESD costs were comparable to traditional systems.
--Rachel Brauer
