The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices

Stormwater management practices for treating urban rainwater runoff were evaluated for cost and effectiveness in removing suspended sediments and phosphorus. Construction and annual operating and maintenance cost data was collected and analyzed for dry detention basins, wet basins, sand filters, constructed wetlands, bioretention filters, infiltration trenches, and swales using literature that reported on existing SMP sites across the United States. After statistical analysis on historical values of inflation and bond yields, the annual operating and maintenance costs were converted to a present worth based on a 20-year life and added to the construction cost. The total present cost of each SMP with the 67% confidence interval was reported as a function of the water quality design volume or, in the case of swales as a function of the swale top width, again with a 67% confidence interval. Finally, the mass of total suspended solids and total phosphorus removed over the 20-year life was estimated as a function of the water quality volume. The results can be used by planners and designers to estimate both the total cost of installing a stormwater management practice at a given site and the corresponding total suspended solids and phosphorus removal.