Public policy: urban stormwater in a paradigm shift, is it the end or just the beginning?

Abstract

The perception that urban stormwater policies are non-existent, incomplete, or lacking in aspects that concern the environment and quality of life in cities has become increasingly common. This is partly due to the increased frequency and magnitude of rainfall events resulting from climate change and its economic, social, and environmental consequences. Population concentration and changes in patterns of living, construction, and urbanization contribute to the pollution of water runoff and receiving waters. Thus, quantity and quality problems add up and often require costly solutions, which are then addressed as economic issues. To deal with all these aspects, many of which were previously absent, stormwater public policies require a paradigm shift to break away from institutional inertia and dependence on the previous path. Without the aim of exhausting the subject, this paper discusses the policy aspects that concern stormwater management and the current and desired paradigm shift.