Stormwater Management Infrastructure: Design, Inspection, and Maintenance

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Evaluate stormwater management requirements for both new developments and redevelopment projects.

• Apply practical approaches to managing stormwater quantity, water quality, erosion, and water balance objectives.

• Design and assess stormwater infrastructure using established hydrologic and hydraulic principles.

• Identify appropriate stormwater management best management practices (BMPs) based on site conditions, regulatory requirements, and performance objectives.

• Support the long-term performance of stormwater facilities through effective inspection, operation, maintenance, and monitoring practices.

 Description

Managing stormwater effectively requires balancing competing priorities such as flood protection, water quality, erosion control, regulatory compliance, environmental stewardship, and long-term asset performance. Poorly planned or inadequately maintained systems can lead to increased maintenance costs, infrastructure failures, environmental impacts, and reduced effectiveness over time.

Whether you are designing new facilities, reviewing development proposals, or are responsible for operating existing infrastructure, understanding how design decisions influence long-term performance is critical. Stormwater management professionals must evaluate hydrologic and hydraulic conditions, select appropriate control measures, and ensure facilities continue to meet their intended objectives throughout their service life.

This course offers a practical overview of stormwater management design, operation, maintenance, and monitoring. Participants will examine current approaches to quantity and quality control, assess common best management practices, and explore how design, construction oversight, inspection, and maintenance affect long-term system performance. These insights can be applied to municipal, consulting, land development, and infrastructure management projects.

 Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for:

• Municipal engineers and engineering technologists

• Stormwater management and drainage designers

• Water resources and civil engineering consultants

• Land development professionals and developers

• Municipal operations and maintenance personnel

• Planners involved in infrastructure and development review

• Technical professionals responsible for stormwater, drainage, or watershed management infrastructure

Overview –The Big Picture - Why Do We Need Stormwater Management?

• Surface runoff discharge, volume and water quality

• Groundwater quantity and quality

• Natural habitat, stream corridors

• Changes in stream temperatures

• Current issues in controlling stormwater quantity and quality

Selection of Design Criteria

• Post- and pre-development criteria

• Flood and floodplain

• Water quality

• Erosion control

• Major-minor system

• Water balance and recharge

• Effect of climate change

A Hydrology Refresher

• Rainfall analyses

• Time of concentration

• Rainfall losses

• Estimating flows using rational & hydrograph methods

• Estimating flows using recorded stream discharges

Hydraulics Design of Open Channel Flows

• Manning's Equation

• Stable Channels

• Composite Channels

• Triangular Channels & Gutters

• Closed conduits, Storm Sewers, Culverts

Workshop - Design of Stormwater Drainage System
Participants will work on a design exercise

Overview of Most Frequently Used Hydrology and Hydraulic Computer Models

• Hydrology – single event, continuous simulation

• Model complexity of urban and river models

Day II

Review of Alternative Stormwater Management BMPs

• Source control

• Conveyance controls

• End-of-pipe controls

• Good Housekeeping and municipal practices

• Wet pond, Wetland

• Rain gardens, Grassed swale, Infiltration Systems

Detention Pond Design

• Detention pond design basics

• Detention pond modelling concepts

• Components of stormwater facilities

• Routing data: storage and hydraulics relationships

• Inlet and outlet design

Inspection, Operation and Maintenance

• Inspection and Assessment of Storm Sewers, Culverts, and LID systems

• Municipal input during reviews of designs

• Erosion and sediment control and inspection during construction

• Operation and maintenance of pond facilities

Monitoring

• Objectives and preparation of a four-phase monitoring program

• Programs for monitoring flows, water quality, and aquatic habitat

• Parameters to be monitored, sampling, equipment

• Safety and public perception

Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes