Users’ Guide for Integrated Planning for Wastewater and Stormwater

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Integrated Planning Framework (IPF) policy in response to the economic and environmental consequences associated with regulatory inflexibility and stove-piped application of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The IPF arose out of discussions about sewer overflow enforcement actions; actions needed to remedy chronic dis-investment in municipal sewerage systems. Municipalities committed to long-term projects that are now proving to be unaffordable for many communities. Worse, those projects often were not forecasted to result in meaningful improvements in water quality, largely because of uncontrolled sources upstream or diminishing rates on return. This ongoing research for the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) will be used to develop a Users’ Guide for integrated planning. The guide will identify municipalities that have considered or undertaken IPF; provide case studies; and will identify the potential social, technical and scientific gaps experienced in applying the IPF. Municipalities and regulators will benefit from the discussion of gaps and tools to bridge the gaps in the Users’ Guide. The guide will also identify the top reasons for doing an integrated plan and the top reasons cited for not doing an integrated plan.