Best management practice for water pollution

Best management practices (BMPs) is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe a type of water pollution control. Historically the term has referred to auxiliary pollution controls in the fields of industrial wastewater control and municipal sewage control, while in stormwater management (both urban and rural) and wetland management, BMPs may refer to a principal control or treatment technique as well. Beginning in the 20th century, designers of industrial and municipal sewage pollution controls typically utilized engineered systems (e.g. filters, clarifiers, biological reactors) to provide the central components of pollution control systems, and used the term "BMPs" to describe the supporting functions for these systems, such as operator training and equipment maintenance. Stormwater management, as a specialized area within the field of environmental engineering, emerged later in the 20th century, and some practitioners have used the term BMP to describe both structural or engineered control devices and systems (e.g. retention ponds) to treat polluted stormwater, as well as operational or procedural practices (e.g. minimizing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides). Other practitioners prefer to use the term Stormwater control measure, due to the varied definitions of the term "BMP" and its use in non-stormwater practice. Congress referred to BMP in several sections of the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) but did not define the term. The 1977 CWA used the term in describing the areawide waste treatment planning program and in procedures for controlling toxic pollutants associated with industrial discharges. The "Section 404" program, which covers dredge and fill permits, refers to BMPs in one of the enforcement exemptions. References to stormwater BMPs first appear in the 1987 amendment to the CWA in describing the Nonpoint Source Management Demonstration Program. Another stormwater BMP reference was added in 2001 with the authorization for a Wet Weather Watershed Pilot Project program.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (15)

Related lectures (2)

Water Management: Environmental Impact and Evacuation

Explores environmental impact studies and the evacuation of polluted water in water management.

Retention Basin Design

Covers the design process of a retention basin for stormwater management.

Urban runoff

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other precipitation events, these surfaces (built from materials such as asphalt and concrete), along with rooftops, carry polluted stormwater to storm drains, instead of allowing the water to percolate through soil.

Best management practice for water pollution

Green infrastructure

Green infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature. The main components of this approach include stormwater management, climate adaptation, the reduction of heat stress, increasing biodiversity, food production, better air quality, sustainable energy production, clean water, and healthy soils, as well as more anthropocentric functions, such as increased quality of life through recreation and the provision of shade and shelter in and around towns and cities.