Cost-Effective Compliance with Stormwater Regulations: How Optimization Can Help

The power of optimization to assist cost-effective compliance with stormwater regulations is exemplified through a case study in this research. The case study involves comparing BMP costs resulting from the traditional uniform sizing strategy with those from the optimization method to meet local Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). As demonstrated through the case study, optimization is able to help identify BMP implementation scenarios that cost 50 percent of traditional BMP sizing strategies, while maintaining compliance with applicable regulations. Moreover, the optimization framework is able to account for site constraints such as high groundwater table and availability of pervious surfaces for BMP implementation. Overall, the optimization technique proves to be a promising alternative in helping achieve cost-effective compliance with stormwater regulations.