| As the ecologically detrimental effects of past water management practices have become evident, urban watershed managers across varied climates have used stormwater management infrastructure (SWI) projects to improve surface water quality. Climate may have significant implications both for the ability of SWI to remove pollutants and national patterns in SWI use. However, investigations on the pollutant removal efficiency of SWI have been generally restricted to humid settings and studies on factors influencing SWI distribution have been limited to case studies examining SWI-use within individual cities. As adequate understanding of SWI function across climates and patterns of use are vital to improving surface water quality, this study aimed to fill these research gaps. First, the nutrient dynamics of two constructed wetland SWI projects were investigated in a cold-desert climate. Second, this investigation used results from a nationwide survey to determine national patterns in stormwater management goals and SWI use.
Key Words: stormwater, water quality, stormwater management, climate, urban streams |