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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Goals of stormwater management agencies are fairly consistent across the Country. The principal goal is to safeguard human health and life. Other major goals are to: maintain and improve the aesthetics and quality of water bodies, pro- tect flora and fauna, and protect the value of real property. The mere setting of priorities and goals does not in itself assure that existing stormwater-related problems will be corrected, or even improved significantly. Impediments to effec~ tive management of stormwater and institutional problems that impede or block attainment of goals are prevalent in most parts of the United States. These prob- lems and their solutions are highlighted in this chapter and covered in detail in the balance of this report. Impediments to Stormwater Management Problems created by flooding, soil erosion, sedimentation and water pollution together with unsatisfactory or non-existent surface drainage facilities would seem to be self-evident. Nevertheless, there appears to be an insufficient awareness and appreciation of the high economic costs, restrictions, inconveniences and con- sequences attributable to failure to provide adequate programs and facilities for managing stormwater. The limiting conditions that thwart solutions arise from all. segments of our population--officials and staff members of public agencies, pri- vate industry, land development firms and the general public. In many metropolitan areas, lack of effective central coordinating agencies enjoying public confidence and legal authority is undoubtedly a prime contributor to today's problems in mitigating the physical impacts of stormwater. Current practices in urban hydrology, stormwater drainage and floodplain manage- ment themselves have characteristics which limit solutions of problems and con- tribute toward future problems. Floodplain zoning meets with considerable opposi- tion from land owners and, in some cases, from officials in local government who are concerned about the reduction of the tax base. The possibility of "confisca- tion without compensation" is a serious matter and requires careful consideration. The lack of comprehensive planning and of authority to truly manage the floodpl.ains, coupled with inadequate control of subdivision development, makes progress slow and difficult. The major limitations of current practices in engineering and design are: (1) difficulties in formulating accurate relationships between precipitation and runoff due to an insufficient understanding of hydrologic processes; (2) lack of satisfactory field data and/or analysis of accumulated data; and (3) impediments in using available data to produce optimum designs of integrated stormwater system~. Additionally, the hydraulics of storm sewer networks and the rivers into which they flow are very complicated. More knowledge and experience are needed by most engi- neers involved in urban drainage design to produce successful drainage and flood control systems that minimize costs and protect nature and man. Impediments in Metropolitan Areas Metropolitan areas without a drainage district or other central coordinating agency are hampered in providing uniform and timely solutions to problems of flood- ing and drainage. There is great difficulty in coordinating the plans of the mlUlY satellite governments and agencies in such areas with those of the central city and with each other. Also, district agencies usually do not serve an "entire" metropolitan area. Metropolitan areas located along flooding rivers often suffer from a similar lack of coordination in planning and action. Some are fortunate in having river basin commissions which have planning coordination as one of their principal functions. Although there are may excellent metropolitan and/or regional 5