Engineering Term of the Month Best Management Practice ( BMPs )
Best Management Practices ( BMPs ) are used to protect waters from potential adverse impacts of construction and post-construction stormwater runoff . Surface waters are a valuable natural resource , providing many benefits . For management of stormwater runoff , BMPs can included source control BMPs , pre-treatment BMPs , and treatment BMPs . Examples of BMPs include street sweeping and snow / ice management ( source control ), vegetated filter strips and deep-sump catch basins ( pre-treatment ), and stormwater ponds , treatment swales , and vegetated buffers ( treatment ).
Regulatory agencies provide informative information for selection , design , and implementation of stormwater BMPs , including the New Hampshire Stormwater Manual .
Establishing BMPs should be based on achieving specific water quality objectives . Maine ’ s Stormwater Management Design Manual describes the focus of Maine ’ s stormwater BMPs to be achieving these objectives : effective pollutant removal , cooling , channel protection , and flood control .
Importantly , proper operation and maintenance is critical to the success of the BMPs to ensure the BMP is effective over its intended period of use .
• New Hampshire Stormwater Manual , 2008
• Maine Stormwater Design Manual , May 2016
Vegetated Buffer