Can stormwater control measures restore altered urban flow regimes at the catchment scale?

Abstract

Over the last 20–30years, there has been an evolution in urban stormwater management towards the use of stormwater control measures (SCMs) at or near the source of the runoff. These approaches aim to protect or restore natural elements of the flow regime. However, evidence of the success of such approaches is to date limited. We reviewed attempts to both model and monitor the catchment-scale hydrological consequences of SCMs. While many catchment-scale studies on the hydrologic effects of SCMs are based on computer simulation, these modeling approaches are limited by many uncertainties. The few existing monitoring studies provide early indications of the potential of SCMs to deliver more natural flow regimes, but many questions remain. There is an urgent need for properly monitored studies that aim to assess the hydrologic effects of SCMs at the catchment scale. In future monitoring studies, these hydrologic effects need to be characterized using appropriate flow metrics at a range of scales (from site scale to catchment scale), and changes to flow metrics by SCMs need to be assessed using robust statistical methods. Such studies will give confidence to stormwater and river managers of the feasibility and benefits of “low impact” approaches to stormwater management.