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Cited by 48Urban Stormwater Management SolutionsHydrology and Watershed Management StudiesIntegrated Water Resources Management

Evaluation of infiltration‐based stormwater management to restore hydrological processes in urban headwater streams

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Fanelli, Rosemary, Prestegaard, Karen, Palmer, Margaret·2017·Hydrological Processes
DOI 10.1002/hyp.11266
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Abstract

Urbanization threatens headwater stream ecosystems globally. Watershed restoration practices, such as infiltration‐based stormwater management, are implemented to mitigate the detrimental effects of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems. However, their effectiveness for restoring hydrologic processes and watershed storage remains poorly understood. Our study used a comparative hydrology approach to quantify the effects of urban watershed restoration on watershed hydrologic function in headwater streams within the Coastal Plain of Maryland, USA. We selected 11 headwater streams that spanned an urbanization–restoration gradient (4 forested, 4 urban‐degraded, and 3 urban‐degraded) to evaluate changes in watershed hydrologic function from both urbanization and watershed restoration. Discrete discharge and continuous, high‐frequency rainfall‐stage monitoring were conducted in each watershed. These datasets were used to develop 6 hydrologic metrics describing changes in watershed storage, flowpath connectivity, or the resultant stream flow regime. The hydrological effects of urbanization were clearly observed in all metrics, but only 1 of the 3 restored watersheds exhibited partially restored hydrologic function. At this site, a larger minimum runoff threshold was observed relative to the urban‐degraded watersheds, suggesting enhanced infiltration of stormwater runoff within the restoration structure. However, baseflow in the stream draining this watershed remained low compared to the forested reference streams, suggesting that enhanced infiltration of stormwater runoff did not recharge subsurface storage zones contributing to stream baseflow. The highly variable responses among the 3 restored watersheds were likely due to the spatial heterogeneity of urban development, including the level of impervious cover and extent of the storm sewer network. This study yielded important knowledge on how restoration strategies, such as infiltration‐based stormwater management, modulated—or failed to modulate—hydrological processes affected by urbanization, which will help improve the design of future urban watershed management strategies. More broadly, we highlighted a multimetric approach that can be used to monitor the restoration of headwater stream ecosystems in disturbed landscapes.

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  • Smaller projects are not the most effective or affordable choice for every situation.

    “Smaller projects are not the most effective or affordable choice for every situation.”

    From Phase II MS4 challenges: moving toward effective stormwater management for small municipalities (2022) · cites this paper as Fanelli et al. 2017

    Section 4.1 reports that the hydrological benefit of the studied restoration projects diminished as impervious cover increased, supporting the point that effectiveness depends on the situation. The paper does not establish that smaller projects are less effective than larger ones or assess which choice is more affordable; a search for cost and affordability found no relevant passage. Our copy provides section labels but no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Small projects may be ineffective in heavily urbanized watersheds.

    “Small projects may be ineffective in heavily urbanized watersheds (Fanelli et al. 2017)”

    From Phase II MS4 challenges: moving toward effective stormwater management for small municipalities (2022) · cites this paper as Fanelli et al. 2017

    Section 3.4 reports that restoration benefits declined with greater urbanization, and Section 4.1 describes poor performance at more impervious sites. The paper does not establish that project size was the reason for ineffectiveness: its reference to a “small” site describes the watershed, not the restoration project. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Fanelli, R., Prestegaard, K., & Palmer, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
  • National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (US)
Corresponding author
Fanelli, Rosemary
ORCID
Venue
Hydrological Processes
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-08-09
Volume
31
Issue
19
Pages
3306-3319
ISSN
  • 0885-6087 (ISSN-L)
  • 1099-1085
DOI
10.1002/hyp.11266
OpenAlex
W2724887082
Cited by
48
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 3
FWCI
3.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Hydrological Processes (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (DBI‐1052875)
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NA10OAR431220)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Integrated Water Resources Management
Keywords
headwater streams, urbanization impacts, watershed storage, river flow regime, baseflow, impervious cover, restoration monitoring

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