NPDES Urban BMP Performance Tool

BMP Study Search

This tool was developed to help stormwater managers identify Best Management Practices (BMPs) appropriate for the individual needs and natural conditions of specific sites. Academics and government agencies have conducted hundreds of scientific studies measuring the effectiveness of various BMPs in managing stormwater. This tool will help stormwater managers access these studies and the conclusions they offer.

You can search for BMP performance studies in four different ways. Click on the radio button to search studies by pollutant, BMP, or volume reduction. Use the search box at the bottom of this page to search by keyword.

Search Studies by Ecoregion and Pollutant, BMP, or Volume Reduction

Step 1. Select the desired ecoregion For a larger version of the Level II Ecoregions map please click on the link below. Please note, the PDF file you are about to download is 26 mb and it will take several minutes to complete the download process. http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Downloads All Alaska Tundra Brooks Range Tundra Alaska Boreal Interior Taiga Cordillera Mixed Wood Shield Atlantic Highlands Boreal Cordillera Western Cordillera Marine West Coast Forest Mixed Wood Plains Central USA Plains Southeastern USA Plains Ozark, Ouachita-Appalachian Forests Mississippi Alluvial and Southeast USA Coastal Plains Temperate Prairies West-central Semi-arid Prairies South Central Semi-arid Prairies Texas-Louisiana Coastal Plain Tamaulipas-Texas Semiarid Plain Cold Deserts Warm Deserts Mediterranean California Western Sierra Madre Piedmont Upper Gila Mountains Everglades Step 2. Select one of the three options to further refine your search Search studies by the pollutants that were measured: Select a pollutant group from the drop down menu. You can also select pollutant measurement techniques after you select a pollutant group. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple pollutant measurement techniques. Pollutant Group: - Select Pollutant Group - Pollutant Measurement Techniques: Search studies by the BMP examined: Select a BMP from the drop down menu. To find studies measuring the BMP’s effect on certain pollutants, select the primary pollutant group, then the primary pollutant measurement technique. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple pollutant measurement techniques. You can further refine your results by selecting a secondary pollutant group and a secondary pollutant measurement technique. BMP: - Select BMP - Primary Pollutant Group: - Select Pollutant Group - Primary Pollutant Measurement Techniques: Secondary Pollutant Group: - Select Pollutant Group - Secondary Pollutant Measurement Techniques: Search studies by the total volume of stormwater runoff reduced by a BMP: Select one or more BMPs from the drop down menu. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple BMPs. BMP: All BMPs

Search Studies by Keyword:

All of the words Any of the words The exact phrase Enter the keyword or words in the text box and select one of the following from the drop down menu: 'All the words' searches all the words entered into the text box. This selection acts as an "AND" operator and will return studies that contain all the words entered, in any order. 'Any of the words' searches one or more of the words entered into the text box. This selection acts as an "OR" operator and will return studies that have at least one word entered into the search box. 'The exact phrase' searches the exact phrase. For example, if you enter "dispersed land surfaces," only studies with that exact phrase will be returned in the results. (You do not need to enter quotes around the keywords.) When you use certain keywords, the search engine will search for that word plus common synonyms. For example, if you search for "bioswale" the search engine will search for "bioswale" as well as "biofilter".