The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Stormwater Calculator helps users make land-use decisions to help prevent stormwater runoff. Photo courtesy of EPA. Click to see more information about the calculator.
An online stormwater calculator offers another tool to help protect waterways from runoff. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its National Stormwater Calculator to help property owners, developers, landscapers, and urban planners make informed land-use decisions to help prevent stormwater runoff, according to an EPA news release.
The calculator is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of stormwater runoff from a specific site based on soil conditions, slope, land cover, and historical rainfall records, the news release says. Users can download the application, enter any U.S. location, and select different scenarios to learn how green infrastructure changes can mitigate runoff. The tool was designed to help determine the cost-effectiveness of different green infrastructure solutions.
The tool allows users to learn how different green infrastructure practices can mitigate runoff and determine each practice’s cost-effectiveness. Photo courtesy of EPA.
The calculator is the first phase of the Stormwater Calculator and Climate Assessment Tool package announced in President Barack Obama’s Climate Action Plan in June. By the end of the year, EPA plans to update the tool so it includes the ability to link to several future climate scenarios, the news release says.
— Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights
October 30, 2013
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