Stormwater Atlas

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U.S. Stormwater Practice Synthesis

A research synthesis of common U.S. post-construction stormwater criteria from this atlas — not a design manual, and not adopted regulation or local code.

18 chapters · 18 editorially reviewed · 11 practice criteria · 8/11/2026

How this draft was built

Manuals in this atlas are ingested into a searchable corpus; outline and chapter drafts are written from Tier A anchors and atlas field statistics. Progress below is snapshotted at site build time.

  1. 1.Prepare

    Queue each jurisdiction PDF and normalize job metadata.

  2. 2.Corpus

    Extract full text into pages, structure, chunks, and topic tags — the evidence base for the national draft.

  3. 3.Extract

    Fill the atlas JSON fields (design storms, WQv, BMPs, etc.) with cited excerpts.

  4. 4.Verify

    Cross-check extracted fields against corpus chunks.

  5. 5.Outline

    Synthesize a research outline of chapters from tagged corpus coverage.

  6. 6.Draft

    Write practice survey + recommendation prose for each outline section, with citations.

Current pipeline status

363 jobs · updated 8/14/2026, 3:32:48 PM

Prepare356/363 done · 7 skipped
Corpus (full text)355/363 done · 8 skipped
Extract (atlas fields)356/363 done · 7 skipped
Verify (citations)349/363 passed · 7 pending · 7 skipped
Tier A verify76/76 passed

Verify bars: green = excerpts found in corpus, red = citation mismatches. Tier A is the ~76-manual evidence core for national citations. See data/pipeline/VERIFY.md for the field histogram.

Outline: Done

Draft sections: 18/18 done

Editorial review: 18/18 reviewed

Practice notes describe what manuals commonly contain. Guidance clauses are provisional synthesis for discussion — not adopted criteria. Verify every citation against the linked jurisdiction manual before design use.

Practice Criteria (SCMs / BMPs)

Draft11 practices

National baseline and regional modifiers for bioretention, permeable pavement, swales, wet ponds, and related controls — cross-state criteria matrices from atlas parameters.

practices

  1. Purpose, Scope, and How to Use This Synthesis

    Reviewed14 citations
    56% tagged

    Frames this work as a synthesis of U.S. practice for research and committee review, not adopted regulation or a design manual.

    intro

  2. Applicability and Relationship to Permits and Local Codes

    Reviewed14 citations
    39% tagged

    When criteria apply (new development, redevelopment, thresholds) and how state/local manuals interact.

    applicability

  3. Hydrology and Design Storms

    Reviewed14 citations
    49% tagged

    Return periods and storm definitions used for water quality, channel protection, and flood control.

    hydrology

  4. Design Storm Selection by Purpose

    Reviewed14 citations
    49% tagged

    Separate WQ, channel, detention, and flood storms; avoid collapsing all purposes into one number.

    hydrology.design-storms

  5. Runoff and Peak-Flow Calculation Methods

    Reviewed14 citations
    46% tagged

    Rational Method, NRCS/TR-55, continuous simulation, and when each is required or allowed.

    hydrology.methods

  6. Approved Hydrologic and Hydraulic Software

    Reviewed14 citations
    32% tagged

    Tools commonly required or accepted for sizing and flood routing.

    hydrology.software

  7. Water Quality Volume and Treatment

    Reviewed14 citations
    48% tagged

    Sizing basis for water-quality capture/treatment and pollutant-removal expectations.

    water-quality

  8. WQv / Treatment Volume Sizing Methods

    Reviewed14 citations
    48% tagged

    Common approaches: first inch, 90th percentile, percent annual rainfall, TSS removal targets.

    water-quality.sizing

  9. Channel Protection, Detention, and Flood Control

    Reviewed14 citations
    46% tagged

    Post-development peak matching, extended detention, and floodplain/channel criteria.

    channel-flood

  10. Allowable Discharge and Release Rates

    Reviewed14 citations
    46% tagged

    Pre- vs post-development peaks and site-specific release limits.

    channel-flood.release

  11. Stormwater Control Measures (BMPs)

    Reviewed12 citations
    48% tagged

    Approved practice categories, selection hierarchy, and sizing/design criteria.

    bmps

  12. BMP Selection and Treatment Trains

    Reviewed14 citations
    48% tagged

    How manuals prioritize infiltration, filtration, and proprietary devices.

    bmps.selection

  13. Facility Sizing and Design Criteria

    Reviewed14 citations
    50% tagged

    Geometry, media, drawdown, setbacks, and underdrain requirements by practice type.

    bmps.sizing

  14. Manufactured / Proprietary Treatment Devices

    Reviewed14 citations
    48% tagged

    Approval lists, verification programs, and when MTDs may substitute for GI.

    bmps.manufactured

  15. Construction Stormwater and ESC

    Reviewed14 citations
    55% tagged

    Temporary controls during construction; often in separate manuals from post-construction.

    construction-esc

  16. Inspection, Operations, and Maintenance

    Reviewed14 citations
    50% tagged

    Long-term O&M obligations, inspection frequency, and enforcement hooks.

    om

  17. Regional and Site Constraints

    Reviewed14 citations
    49% tagged

    Where national defaults must fork: climate, soils, geology, and receiving-water sensitivity.

    regional

  18. Plan Submittal, Review, and Variances

    Reviewed14 citations
    25% tagged

    Documentation expected for approval and paths for alternatives.

    submittals