The RAN Project has developed several non-technical, easy-to-read fact sheets that provide useful information on stormwater management.
Stream Power (pdf)
Many of us know that the potential energy of rivers can be stored behind dams to produce electricity. Yet, there are few analogies to common uses of energy that provide a sense of how much energy is transferred in this process. The Ran Team tackled this problem and quantified the amount of excess energy produced when rainfall runs off impervious surfaces, like driveways and roofs, directly into a stream, rather than following the buffered, natural course through soils and vegetation....
Comparing Stormwater Best Management Practices (pdf)
Best Management Practices (BMPs) used in stormwater management have been developed to decrease the risk and impact of flooding and to protect the quality and quantity of local water resources. Stormwater management BMPs include wet ponds, gravel wetlands, and rain gardens. The RAN Project developed a complete picture of the costs over each BMP's life cycle, including ecological and human health impacts....
Watershed Urbanization and the Energy Cycle of Streams (pdf)
Watershed urbanization may cause an entire suite of impairments to the biological, chemical, and physical conditions of streams and rivers. The RAN Project determined if differences exist in the energy cycles of suburban stormwater-impaired streams and their more pristine rural counterparts....
RAN Stormwater Best Management Practice Evaluator Tool (pdf)
A graduate student participating in the RAN Project developed a mathematical model based on TR-55 that has evolved into a tool specifically designed for the cost-benefit analysis of several stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) and low impact designs (LIDs) in Vermont. This tool is able to provide quick answers to important questions regarding the management of stormwater in Vermont....
Tackling Stormwater Runoff with Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Tools (pdf)
The RAN Team developed a new participatory tool for environmental consensus building called Participatory Spatial Analysis (PSA). PSA and high resolution remote sensing data from satellites create a powerful approach that helps residents visualize how various stormwater management options would appear in their neighborhoods....
Burlington, Vermont Stormwater Park: Function through Design (pdf)
Revitalization of the Lake Champlain waterfront is a major effort in Burlington's sustainable development initiative. The initiative includes a concept design for a Stormwater Park by students in the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. The Park would serve the ecological function of stormwater remediation as it treats runoff from the 23-acre College Street drainage basin....
A Multifunctional Wetland Park to Treat Stormwater Runoff from Suburban Vermont Neighborhoods (pdf)
A team of four University of Vermont students, mentored by ecological designer Professor John Todd, used ecological problem solving to create a design for a wetland park to help treat stormwater runoff from two adjacent suburban developments in South Burlington, Vermont.