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<br />. <br /> <br />CHAPTER 1 <br />INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY <br />Summary Of the Drainage Problem in Urbanizing Communities <br />Suburban development produces a rather noticeable effect on the <br />character of a watershed, transforming it from a system of pervious <br />soil and natural swales to one of impervious pavements and houses, and <br />man-made channels. This transformation alters the storm water runoff <br />response of the urbanizing watershed which, in turn, causes a reduction <br />in the adequacy of downstream stormwater drainage facilities. This <br />reduction in adequacy puts a strain on the fiscal resources of the <br />community. The fiscal impact is felt either as increased flood <br />damages (public and private) or as costs of constructing drainage <br />facilities to reduce these damages. <br />How does the community government absorb these costs? Some 2,000 <br />rapidly growing communities across the country are beginning to recog- <br />nize the relevance of this question. Unfortunately, they have had <br />limited success in developing and implementing programs for accommo- <br />dating these development-induced drainage costs. More than just a few <br />communities have found themselves studying and restudying the same <br />drainage basins without ever establishing any kind of drainage cost <br />recovery or management program. In the writers' opinion, the great <br />number of unknowns in managing'development-induced drainage impacts <br />precipitate this stall in implementing drainage management programs. <br />These unknowns include: <br />1. The questions of liability -- Does the city insure property <br />from flooding when issuing a building permit? Are developers <br />liable for their actions in reducing the amount of pervious <br />land area? <br />