Stormwater Practices
Protecting Our Water’s Quality and Quantity
Many stormwater practices use or mimic natural processes, such as bioretention swales, rain gardens, vegetated rooftops, rain barrels, and permeable pavements. They promote the natural movement of water within an ecosystem or watershed. Natural drainage flow paths, minimal land clearing, clustering of buildings, and reducing impervious surfaces become stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to preserve the natural features and hydrology of the land compared to conventional methods of collecting, conveying, and piping away runoff.
Applied on a broad scale, these green stormwater practices can maintain or restore a watershed’s hydrologic and ecological functions.
Stormwater is a water resource, not a waste product. Green stormwater infrastructure techniques, also known as Low Impact Development (LID), are very important, especially in impervious urban watersheds where runoff exceeds infiltration. These engineered design approaches maintain and enhance the pre-development hydrologic regime of urban and developing watersheds. LID practices, such as rain gardens, bioswales, and pervious pavement, infiltrate and recharge the local water table, reducing stormwater runoff.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure Videos
Salem Sound Coastwatch produced the following green stormwater infrastructure videos for the City of Salem under a MA Coastal Zone Management grant. The following videos cover these best practices showing what they are and how to maintain them.
Rain Gardens
This video demonstrates the purpose and maintenance of rain gardens. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
Forest River Park Green Stormwater Bioretention System
This video shows how stormwater is cleaned before entering Salem Harbor by a series of practices. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
Winter Island High Performance Biofiltration System
This video explains the inspection and maintenance requirements for the high performance biofiltration system at Winter Island Park, Salem MA. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
Commercial Street High Performance Biofiltration System
This video explains the inspection and maintenance requirements for the high performance biofiltration system that is in a rain garden along Commercial Street. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
Catch Basin Videos
Salem Sound Coastwatch produced the following catch basin videos for the City of Salem under a MA Coastal Zone Management grant. Catch basin inserts trap trash and pollutants.
Catch Basin Filter Cartridge Replacement
This video shows how filter cartridges work and are serviced so they can clean stormwater runoff before it flows into the river. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
Inspection and Maintenance of Catch Basins with Filter-Bag Inserts
This video shows how filter bag inserts are serviced so they can remove debris from stormwater runoff before it flows into the river. It is one in a series of green stormwater infrastructure maintenance videos created by Salem Sound Coastwatch for the City of Salem, with funding from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant.
