Stormwater Best Management Practices

The MARC manual provides guidance for land development practices within the region. It provides developers, engineers and planners with flexible tools to reduce the volume of stormwater discharge while conserving water quality at the same time.

Local governments in the Kansas City metro area adopt American Public Works Association (APWA) engineering design standards to govern how stormwater is managed for the region. These standards adapt regional approaches to meet local needs and opportunities. These standards are located in APWA Section 5600 and the MARC/APWA Manual of Best Management Practices to Protect Water Quality (BMP Manual).

Evolution in stormwater practices, technology, data and modeling led to a recent initiative to update these local standards, which date back to 2003. This effort is supported and guided by the APWA-Kansas City Executive Committee and 22 participating local governments.

The project aligns with APWA Sustainable Stormwater Task Force recommendations, which “resilient stormwater management uses a sustainable watershed management approach that manages risk, enhances value for all, and stewards natural ecosystems.”  

The scope will, at a minimum: 

• Combine water quantity and quality design standards  
• Create a set of stormwater standards and specifications that are more adaptable to variable development/redevelopment land use conditions in rural, suburban and urban areas  
• Address resiliency and sustainability by promoting more holistic system evaluations  
• Update rainfall standards and other appropriate hydrology methods  
• Increase the level of hydrology and hydraulic evaluation requirements  
• Provide more natural system design and maintenance criteria  
• Improve the evaluation of stormwater detention requirements for increased value 

Please contact MARC with any questions related to this project.