Environmentally Conscious Stormwater Management through Sustainable Design and Best Management Practices

Because development has dramatically altered the hydrologic environment's sustainability, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is encouraging the use of “green” design through stormwater management BMPs. The MMSD asked Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates, Inc. (GAS) to evaluate and design stormwater management BMPs. The MMSD headquarters in Milwaukee, WI is serving as test site for creative stormwater management solutions. In order to best match needs of the MMSD headquarters site, GAS analyzed configuration and tributary areas of the storm sewer system to determine anticipated flow rates and most feasible BMP installations. Five treatment techniques were selected: constructed wetland treatment, structural stormwater treatment units, drop in catch basin inlet filters, native plantings to facilitate stormwater infiltration, and the use of porous pavement in a designated test area. The MMSD project is serving as an active, operable test site for various types of stormwater management and treatment BMP systems. An added value of the project is that it demonstrates that creative applications of the various BMP systems available can be provided in nearly any setting, even the congested settings of fully developed areas in the urban environment. Through the creative and innovative applications of these BMP measures, it will be possible to “turn back the clock” on stormwater management and water quality, returning our water resources to the level of sustainability they had before the impacts of man's intensive development.