“STEPPing” up to the Plate on Stormwater Performance
Involvement with the StormCon program has been a mainstay of the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) since 2023, and StormCon 2025 is no different. As has occurred in each of the previous two conferences, NMSA will hold critical meetings and a full day of technical sessions from a national perspective.
NMSA at StormCon 2025
Specifically, NMSA will host the Annual NMSA Public Meeting from 1-2:30pm (local time) on Tuesday, August 26 to share activities and accomplishments through the past year, anticipated plans for the next year, and a focus on high-profile issues of the day in the stormwater sector. We will be leading four technical sessions on Wednesday, August 27, starting with a session providing background, updates, and an overview on the value of NMSA’s most active program, the Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP). Our second session will cover national-level policy and legal issues as well as consideration of resiliency challenges in Florida.
The final two sessions led by NMSA focus on national-level leadership. American Rivers has partnered with NMSA to establish the National Stormwater Leadership Conversation, which is an effort to bring together organizations with an interest in and focus on the stormwater sector to identify areas of policy, technical, programmatic and financial aspects of stormwater programs where leadership is needed to make measurable improvements for the advancement of the sector and improved water quality. The session will outline the details of this national-level effort including the groups involved, the background and purpose, and the goals and outcomes anticipated. A follow-on listening session will be held on Thursday, August 28 to seek input from the public and answers questions. The final session will feature the newly established Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Infrastructure Technologies (CESITs) that will include presentations from each of the four CESITs who will discuss their anticipated priorities and activities. A listening session will also be held on Thursday for those who wish to learn more about the CESITs or provide input on these entities.
Updates on STEPP
The Stormwater Testing and Evaluation of Products and Practices (STEPP) is a program of the NMSA that was established to provide increased confidence in the performance of stormwater infrastructure — both manufactured treatment devices (MTDs) as well as public domain practices — to bolster the value of stormwater management investments. The vision for STEPP is to provide a platform to verify the performance of stormwater products and practices based upon established performance testing standards , specifically ASTM International testing standards. This program started as a concept led by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and has since been led by NMSA to see this concept mature into an active program.
The evolution of STEPP has progressed through a multi-phase pathway with the first phase focusing on an acceleration in the development of the program and Phase 2, which just ended, primarily focused on an initial launch for the program, initiating the development field-based testing verification protocols and procedures, and making significant gains on verification services associated with lab-based testing.
The major accomplishments of STEPP made during Phase 2 include the offering verification services for trash capture technologies and hydrodynamic separator (HDS) systems tested in lab-based settings, the establishment of a roster of highly qualified non-biased third-party reviewers (referred to as the STEPP External Review Group, or SERG) populated by many of today’s leading stormwater researchers, and the initiation of verification services on three technologies with the first completed verification anticipated in July 2025.
The gains made in the STEPP program have been built upon the significant efforts of the members of ASTM E64 Committee on Stormwater Control Measures. STEPP is also offering concurrence verifications for technologies that have been tested using procedures consistent with ASTM standards and reviewed by a verification entity previously. This service eliminates unnecessary duplicative testing campaign efforts and verification efforts.
Phase 3 for STEPP has just started and is continuing the momentum from Phase 2. The major milestones for Phase 3 include expanding verification services to include field-based testing verification and lab-based testing verification to include filter technologies. Field testing verification will be offered by STEPP after gaining critical insights via a mentoring relationship with the Washington Technology Assessment Protocol for Ecology (TAPE) who leads the most ubiquitously used field-based verification program in the country. STEPP will also finalize a governance structure with a leadership group and technical and stakeholder subcommittees. Lastly, the program will gain a critical mass of programmatic and financial support from MS4s and states across the country.
About the Author
Seth Brown
Seth Brown has over 25 years of experience in the water sector and is the Principal and Founder of Storm and Stream Solutions, LLC, a consulting firm providing a range of services from policy and alternative project delivery analysis in the stormwater sector to facilitation and training services focused on stormwater topics. He was the Director of Stormwater Programs at the Water Environment Federation from 2010-2015 and is currently the Executive Director of the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance, which is a 501.c.3 representing stormwater-focused organizations in 24 states across 9 of the 10 U.S. EPA regions with a network that is comprised of over 4,000 MS4s.
Seth has a Ph.D. in civil engineering from George Mason University with a research focus on socio-economic modeling of incentive-based investments of green stormwater infrastructure on private properties. He leads courses in Green Infrastructure and Innovative Water Partnerships at Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Maryland.
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