Blog

Urban streams in semi-arid Denver have 2.5 times more streamflow than nearby grassland streams.  Where is this extra streamflow coming from? Flowing Lakewood Gulch in Denver. We conducted a research study to

More stormwater control measures (SCMs) are being used to treat stormwater and prevent stormwater from reaching urban streams.  To answer, “How successful are these SCMs at a watershed scale?” we need metrics that can be used to quantify

Our recent work connecting spatial rain and geographic data to municipal reports of urban flooding shows us new insights on drivers of urban flooding. Rainfall is not enough to predict a street flood occurrence, information about the geography is

Subsurface storage as a regulator of streamflow was investigated as an explanation for the large proportion of pre-event water observed in urban streams during storm events. We used multiple lines of inquiry to explore the relationship between pre-

Despite over $5 billion dollars in expenditures, nonpoint source pollution from urban watersheds is still a significant cause of impaired waters in the United States. Urban stormwater management has rapidly evolved over recent decades with decision-

Urbanization includes wastewater collection and conveyance infrastructure, which alters water budgets and streamflow hydrographs. One unique component of the urban water cycle is inflow and infiltration (I/I), where there are inputs to the

 We know that urban development strongly affects the amount of water in streams after a storm, but urban impacts have mostly been documented in cities with wet climates.  We don’t know as much about how streams are affected by urbanization

As part of the STORMS project, we wanted to understand how and why stormwater management differs between cities.  In particular, we focused on Denver, Colorado and Cleveland, Ohio.  Denver has separate wastewater and stormwater systems,

The following discusses work presented in a journal article by Fillo, Bhaskar, and Jefferson (2021), published in Water Resources Research. Excess lawn irrigation may contribute to flow in urban streams when more water is applied than plants

Previous studies of the influence of urban development on subsurface storage have not revealed any consistent pattern, with results showing increases, decreases, and negligible change in groundwater levels. We investigated the effects of four key