ABSTRACT
Urban runoff is a major environmental concern. The old paradigm of only controlling flow to mitigate flood damage must be extended to incorporate preventing deterioration of water quality. For the purposes of this chapter,
urban runoff
is water flowing because of urbanization and may occur from the following sources: stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, publicly owned treatment works and industrial outfalls, and/or miscellaneous runoff. There are other sources of runoff that contribute to the deterioration of water quality, including agricultural runoff, but those are not considered urban sources. The major volume of urban runoff is composed of water that flows from landscaped areas, driveways, streets, parking lots, roofs, and from other impervious surfaces.
