Year of publication 2013

Installing trees in locations that are engineered to retain stormwater is a great way to augment existing stormwater management systems, increasing their capacity and improving water quality while greatly improving urban forest canopy. This guide is an introduction to those engineered systems available, and in use today, that utilize trees to manage a volume of stormwater. These systems, in addition to providing a solution for managing runoff, also grow big trees. This guide is divided into the following four sections: Section 1. Urban Stormwater Runoff defines urban stormwater runoff and explains why it is a problem. Section 2. The Role of Trees in Stormwater Management discusses what trees need to grow in urban environments and how they help manage stormwater. Section 3. Stormwater Management Systems with Trees provides an introduction to engineered systems available that utilize trees to manage a volume of stormwater. Section 4. Case Studies presents projects from throughout the country that have successfully used trees in the engineered systems discussed. This guide is intended to help engineers, planners, developers, architects, arborists, and public officials understand how trees perform and interact in a stormwater management system, and the new technologies that are being used to increase the stormwater utility function of the urban forest, even in the densest urban environments.