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CONTROLLING STORMWATER RUNOFF WITH TRADABLE CREDITS FOR IMPERVIOUS SURFACES
Citation:
Thurston**, H, H C. Goddard, D C. Szlag*, AND B Lemberg**. CONTROLLING STORMWATER RUNOFF WITH TRADABLE CREDITS FOR IMPERVIOUS SURFACES. Labadie, J.W. (ed.), JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 129(5):409-418, (2003).
Description:
Stormwater flow from an impervious surface can lead to stream degradation, habitat alteration, low base flows and increased toxic loadings from nonpoint sources, a problem that has resisted traditional command and control regulatory approaches. We explore the thesis that a well designed tradable runoff credit system can create economic incentives for landowners to employ low-cost runoff management practices to reduce excess stormwater flow to more ecologically sound levels. Attributes such as percent impervious surface, soil type, etc., determine a given parcel's runoff potential and management alternatives, and by extension, its credit requirements. Using a small watershed in Cincinnati, Ohio as a case study, we show that a tradable runoff credit system carries promise to be a low-cost method for attaining reductions in stormwater runoff.