Best Management Practices (BMPs) are approaches for mitigating stormwater impacts, from erosion control at the source to downstream stormwater treatment. Paradoxically, plastic materials dominate this sphere, serving to reduce some stormwater pollutants (e.g., total suspended solids, nutrients, pathogens) but while releasing others (i.e., microplastics). We seek to address this paradox by expanding the use of non-plastic alternatives. Additionally, the habitat provisioning capacity of stormwater controls (e.g., stormwater ponds) has been poorly quantified and generally ignored as design criteria. To address this, we work to reveal the current and potential ecological role these structures play in our ever-urbanizing environments.

Publications (*graduate student, undergraduate student, +postdoctoral author):

• McKercher L*, ME Kimball, A Scaroni, SA White, WHJ Strosnider (2024) Stormwater ponds serve as variable quality habitat for diverse taxa. Wetlands Ecology and Management 32:109-131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-023-09964-x 

• Stay tuned for papers regarding plastics release from BMP materials as well as better material options for stormwater management and erosion control!