The Tipping Point: Why Deferred Stormwater Maintenance Costs More Than You Think
August 11, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM CT | 11:00 AM PT
Duration: 60 minutes
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Summary
Municipal budgets and capital improvement plans are under constant pressure, and stormwater infrastructure maintenance is frequently deferred in favor of more visible or more urgent priorities. The challenge is that stormwater assets don't deteriorate on a predictable, linear schedule. A pipe joint failure, sediment buildup, or minor erosion at an outfall can remain a low-cost repair for a period of time, and then cross a threshold where the same issue requires full excavation, replacement, or emergency remediation, often at two to three times the original repair cost, or more.
In this session, Tim Stottlemyer will walk through the lifecycle of stormwater asset deterioration and the specific point at which a repairable condition becomes a replacement scenario. The presentation will cover how deferred maintenance decisions compound over time, what inspection and condition assessment data can reveal about remaining service life, and how to build the technical and financial justification for proactive maintenance funding within constrained capital budgets.
Speakers
Tim Stottlemyer, CESSWI, CPMSM®
Stormwater Infrastructure Consultant
AQUALIS AQUALIS
Tim Stottlemyer is a Stormwater Infrastructure Consultant with AQUALIS, where he focuses on projects involving greater complexity or regulatory nuance. Tim brings a rare combination of municipal regulatory and hands-on construction experience to the AQUALIS team.
Prior to AQUALIS, Tim spent 18 years as an MS4 Coordinator for a fast-growing community in Central Indiana, managing stormwater compliance through a period of significant municipal growth and development. Before that, he served as Vice President of his family's excavating business, where he focused on stormwater and wet utility construction and maintenance for commercial, industrial, retail, and institutional clients.
This path, from field construction to municipal regulation to consulting, gives Tim a full-circle understanding of stormwater infrastructure: how it's built, how it's regulated, and how it fails. He is an experienced and dedicated professional with deep expertise in MS4 stormwater management and environmental compliance, driven by a passion for finding effective, innovative solutions to difficult problems, protecting the environment, and delivering quality work.
