What is its purpose?

The purpose of this project is to improve water quality nationwide by sharing consistent and transferable information on stormwater best management practices. The database will help water quality professionals across the U.S. learn about successful BMP's and apply proven methods to local water quality projects. By adding individual BMP study findings to the database, users can enrich its usefulness for a national audience.

How is it designed?

The initial database is based on extensive screening of a bibliography of over 800 existing BMP's and was designed by national stormwater experts on ASCE's Urban Water Resources Research Council. The software is Windows-compatible and runs on personal computers. The first release of the database will be distributed on CD-ROM and updates will be made through CD-ROM or the Internet as additional BMP data are gathered.

What information does it contain?

Representative information provided for BMP's includes test site location, researcher contact data, watershed characteristics, regional climate statistics, BMP design parameters, monitoring equipment types, and monitoring data such as precipitation, flow and water quality.

What are the benefits?

• Provides access to BMP performance information for comparison to local studies
  
• Allows individual investigators to develop project-specific BMP performance databases
  
• Promotes technical design improvements in stormwater runoff management methods
  
• Offers a simple way to share findings with the water quality community
  
• Serves planners, engineers, scientists, officials and citizens involved in water quality projects
  
• Easy to understand and use

This project is being conducted under a cooperative agreement between ASCE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

BMP designers, owners and operators are invited to submit their BMP study data to the database Please contact the ASCE/EPA Project Team for more information.



Detailed Database Documentation