Stormwater Management

Downspout redirection is exactly what it sounds like: redirecting your downspouts to deposit the rainwater onto your lawn or flower beds rather than the pavement.

Redirected downspouts irrigate your yard with free water while reducing the quantity of water in our storm sewer systems. It is a small and inexpensive way you can improve your watershed and be a steward of our streams.

The problem: stormwater runoff that enters the storm sewer system is deposited into our local streams and rivers without being treated. All of the contaminants and litter that the water picks up on the way is emptied into our waterways.

Did you know that the water that goes down the storm drain is not treated?

That stormwater runoff goes down the drain, into the stormwater system, and directly to your nearby streams, rivers, and lakes – the same waterways where we swim, fish, and get our drinking water.

Unfortunately, the water that enters the drain picks up almost everything it comes in contact with including motor oil, fuels, lawn chemicals, pet waste, and litter. The physical materials can cause flooding by blocking the stormwater system. The chemicals can contaminate ground and surface water, making those bodies of water unsafe for body contact.

EPA implements sustainable stormwater management, also called low impact development (LID) or green infrastructure, at its facilities. Sustainable stormwater management focuses on reducing runoff and improving water quality. LID practices help maintain natural hydrologic cycles through site grading, vegetation, soils and natural processes that absorb and filter stormwater onsite. They also help minimize erosion, flooding and water pollution downstream from EPA facilities.

Green roofs in Omaha exist in commercial buildings, residences, and schools. Nebraska’s location on the Great Plains provides opportunities to experiment with native prairie plants that are well-adapted to drought and limited rooting. Plants native to Nebraska have been used successfully on green roofs in place of the more traditional sedum species.

Homeowners can reduce water runoff from their yards by using a functional and aesthetic feature called a rain garden. A rain garden is a small area in a residential yard or neighborhood designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water that comes from a house roof, driveway or other open area. A rain garden is not a pond or wetland. It is dry most of the time and holds water after a rain.

Plants suitable for Nebraska rain gardens have been developed from several sources to provide a wide selection of possible plant choices for homeowners. Here you can find an overview of plants adaptable to wet rain garden conditions throughout Nebraska (garden bottoms and areas with consistently higher moisture levels). There are also plants that are well-adapted to drier garden conditions, such as the tops and sides of rain garden berms. Regionally native plants are typically best suited to the variable conditions found in rain gardens.