From ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) – Long seen as a nuisance to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible, urban stormwater increasingly is being viewed as a resource. Although the concept of capturing and using urban stormwater has gained attention in recent years, the full promise of this approach is far from being realized. This is the assessment of a new report released in early March by global water think tank the Pacific Institute and 2NDNATURE Software Inc., a provider of stormwater management software. Titled Untapped Potential: An Assessment of Urban Stormwater Runoff Potential in the United States, the report finds that U.S. cities, particularly those in coastal regions, could benefit in multiple ways by making greater use of stormwater. Nationwide, a massive volume of precipitation becomes urban runoff in the U.S. On average, the annual volumetric potential for urban stormwater runoff totals 59.5 million acre-feet per year, equal to 53.1 billion gallons per day, according to the report. (more)