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Project Team |
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Overview A broad range of project-related publications and guidance have been completed since the project's inception in 1996. Key project-related guidance can be downloaded from this page. As the project has evolved over the last decade, conclusions regarding BMP performance have been refined; therefore, more recent publications should be used for primary reference. Key areas of guidance and publications available from this web page include: BMP Monitoring Guidance, BMP Performance Evaluation Protocols, and BMP Reporting Protocols. Also see Conference Proceedings and Published Articles for more information.
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BMP Monitoring Guidance As a result of the reviewing over 800 literature sources on BMP performance, the Project Team identified the need for better guidance on proper monitoring of Stormwater BMPs and developed the guidance document Urban Stormwater BMP Performance Monitoring - A Guidance Manual for Meeting the National Stormwater BMP Database Requirements. The manual is intended to help achieve stormwater BMP monitoring project goals through the collection of more useful and representative rainfall, flow, and water quality information. Many of the recommended protocols (particularly those for reporting monitoring, watershed, and design information) are directly related to requirements of the Stormwater BMP Database. However, the manual is intended to improve the state of the practice by providing a recommended set of protocols and standards for collecting, storing, analyzing, and reporting BMP monitoring data that will lead to better understanding of the function, efficiency, and design of urban stormwater BMPs. This manual provides insight into and guidance for strategies, approaches, and techniques that are appropriate and useful for monitoring BMPs. The manual focuses primarily on the collection, reporting, and analysis of water quantity and quality measurements. During 2009, the BMP Monitoring Guidance has been significantly revised and updated, with emphasis on guidance for monitoring Low Impact Development sites and techniques. The complete manual can be downloaded below. 2009 Urban Stormwater BMP Performance Monitoring (October 2009 Final)
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BMP Performance Evaluation Protocols Early in the project, the Project Team identified a wide variety of measures that have been used historically to assess BMP performance, resulting in wide variations in reported BMP effectiveness. Additionally, the commonly used simplistic approach of assessing BMP performance based only on the percent difference between mean concentrations (i.e., percent pollutant removal) for storm events or on average was determined to be misleading under most conditions. As a result of the literature review and the input of an expert advisory committee, the Project Team selected a BMP performance assessment approach that fully accounts for the statistical characteristics inherent to stormwater quality data. For example, the Project Team determined that the lognormal distribution was most representative for describing the majority of water quality data examined. Using the log-transformed data as a starting point, the Project Team selected a variety of statistical plots to describe the data based on their ability to quickly and accurately depict BMP performance and convey information that is statistically relevant (e.g., central tendency, confidence in mean values, and variability). A variety of non-parametric tests are also completed that do not rely on the assumption of normal or lognormal distribution for use.
Development of BMP Performance Measures
(1999, 32 pp., PDF): This document describes the
measures recommended for evaluating BMP performance, which are
the basis of the BMP performance evaluations for the data
included in the BMP database.
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| BMP Reporting Protocols One of the primary goals of the initial project was to develop consistent monitoring and reporting protocols to enable consistent data collections and storage in a national BMP Database to enable more accurate BMP analysis. The protocols were developed in 1997-1998 based on the input and intensive review of many experts for the purpose of developing standardized reporting parameters necessary for more accurate BMP performance analysis. The data reporting protocols were originally released as a "data entry module" in 1999 on the National Stormwater BMP Database CD. The database reporting protocols encompass a broad range of parameters including test site location, watershed characteristics, climate data, BMP design and layout characteristics, monitoring instrumentation, and monitoring data for precipitation, flow and water quality. The original CD has been replaced with more user-friendly Excel spreadsheets and an updated User's Guide, which can be downloaded from the Data Entry portion of this site. |