This section in the Manual looks at why stormwater management is important in the state and introduces general stormwater and stormwater management principles that are used throughout the Manual website. Included is a discussion of the unique framework and stormwater management approach needed in Minnesota to address the variation in physical conditions that might affect surface water management.
Stormwater education
The material contained in the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, and especially the background material presented on this section, can be used to educate public officials and citizens on the necessity to plan adequately for stormwater. Although the average Minnesotan is very water-savvy, there is a continual need to keep our youth and those desiring to learn better served.
Minnesota is fortunate to have many educational programs available to its citizens. Such efforts as the University of Minnesota Extension, Project NEMO, Watershed Partners, and all of the Phase II education programs developed by Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities are but a few of the many available.
The Center for Watershed Protection has helped document the adverse impact that increased imperviousness (that is, water not able to soak into the ground) has on the health of receiving streams. Similar impacts occur when the watersheds surrounding lakes experience an increase in impervious cover, although in both stream and lake cases this simplistic explanation is only part of the problem. Other factors such as morphology, landscape setting, inherent soils and geology, and land use history could be equally as important.
It is important to note that the Minnesota Stormwater Manual has an urban or developing/developed area focus. This is not meant to ignore or minimize the impact that agricultural or silvicultural activities can have on our receiving waters. Rather, the Manual focuses on the transition from rural and open space to urban uses, and on the management of stormwater from the increased impervious surfaces that result. Readers are referred to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for further information on agricultural and silvicultural activities.