As aging stormwater systems face mounting pressure from stronger storms and growing urbanization, join us as we explore how advanced modeling empowers stormwater engineers with the insights needed to identify hidden vulnerabilities and plan more resilient, future-ready infrastructure.
Across the nation, communities are grappling with a challenge that is both hidden beneath our feet and increasingly visible on our streets: aging stormwater infrastructure. For decades, these systems have protected homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure from flooding. Yet they are now burdened by stronger storms, expanding impervious surfaces, shifting climate patterns, and evolving regulations, causing mounting pressures on aging systems.... That strain, however, is now becoming impossible to ignore.
Many stormwater networks were built for smaller populations and milder rainfall, leaving them increasingly vulnerable as cities grow denser and weather patterns become more extreme. Deteriorating pipes, altered groundwater conditions, and outdated designs contribute to rising flood risks, unexpected system failures, and costly emergency interventions. Far too often, communities face these problems without a clear understanding of where their systems are weakest.
Advanced hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling has emerged as an essential tool for addressing this uncertainty, with Streamline Technologies standing at the forefront. With more than forty years of real-world application, StormWise™ has helped drive a major shift in how engineers evaluate risk, identify vulnerabilities, and make informed decisions that enhance community resilience.
Stormwater systems deteriorate slowly, often without visible warning. Pipes gradually lose capacity, channels fill with vegetation and sediment, detention systems settle, and shifting groundwater alters storage and flow patterns. These subtle changes accumulate over time, frequently going unnoticed until flooding becomes more common or a critical component finally gives way.
As structural integrity declines, small issues begin to compound. Debris builds up out of sight. Pipe joints shift or separate. Sediment reduces conveyance and slows flow. Components that were once adequately sized become overwhelmed by today’s more intense rainfall, turning minor constraints into major chokepoints. When a weakened pipe collapses or a culvert fails during a storm, the consequences can be severe, with localized flooding, property damage, and costly disruptions to infrastructure never designed to endure such pressures.
The environmental implications make these failures even more consequential. When stormwater systems falter, polluted runoff can bypass treatment and carry metals, nutrients, debris, and pathogens into local waterways. Erosion at outfalls destabilizes stream banks and ecosystems, while older combined sewer systems face the added risk of overflows during heavy rain, exposing communities to hazardous contamination.
Taken together, these structural, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities underscore a single, unavoidable truth: aging stormwater infrastructure is increasingly struggling to keep pace with the demands of today’s modern conditions.
Communities have long relied on inspections, maintenance records, and historical flood data to guide stormwater planning. Although these tools remain fundamental, they cannot capture the complete picture. Flood maps may be outdated or based on rainfall assumptions that no longer reflect present-day conditions. Inspections provide only a snapshot of what is visible at a moment in time. Capital improvement plans often prioritize known trouble spots, allowing hidden vulnerabilities to go undetected until they escalate into emergencies.
Most importantly, traditional methods alone cannot reveal how multiple stressors interact. Engineers need to understand how undersized pipes respond when groundwater is rising, how watershed dynamics shift with new development, how stormwater behaves during back-to-back storm events, and how small system inefficiencies compound under extreme conditions. Without advanced modeling, these connections remain unclear, limiting the ability to plan ahead and strengthen resilience.
StormWise™ gives engineering professionals the clarity required to confront aging infrastructure head-on. A widely accepted hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling engine, StormWise™ transforms advanced modeling into actionable insight, revealing system performance, identifying potential points of failure, and supporting long-term planning.
The software’s integrated 1D and 2D modeling capabilities allow engineers to analyze both subsurface and surface conditions simultaneously. The 1D engine simulates flow through pipes, channels, and culverts, while the 2D engine shows how water moves across land, interacts with terrains, and responds to groundwater dynamics. Because these processes are modeled together, StormWise™ uncovers vulnerabilities that would otherwise remain hidden.
By simulating a wide range of stormwater events, including extreme scenarios, StormWise™ helps engineers pinpoint areas where reduced capacity elevates flood risk, where groundwater interactions threaten infrastructure stability, and where land-use changes or climate-driven rainfall shifts may overwhelm the system, thus turning modeling into a diagnostic tool and transforming uncertainty into foresight.
With this level of insight, communities can move beyond reactive solutions. They can prioritize investments, plan strategic upgrades, and implement improvements based on a comprehensive understanding of risk rather than isolated observations.
Modern stormwater management requires tools that reflect the complexity of today’s conditions.
Climate-driven rainfall intensification, aging infrastructure, rising groundwater, and expanding development patterns are converging to create unprecedented demands. StormWise™ is designed to meet these challenges with flexibility, precision, and power.
Its 1D and 2D H&H capabilities, automated data integration, and advanced computational methods allow engineers to create models that mirror real-world conditions with accuracy. Its visualization capabilities also make it easier to communicate complex findings to stakeholders, bridging the gap between technical analysis and community decision-making.
Whether applied to watershed-scale studies, urban drainage planning, groundwater interaction assessments, or comprehensive stormwater master planning, StormWise™ supports smarter, more resilient management strategies that strengthen infrastructure for generations to come.
Across the United States, failures stemming from outdated and deteriorating stormwater systems are becoming more frequent, more costly, and more disruptive. Yet stormwater engineers now have powerful tools to confront these risks head-on. With advanced modeling, they can foresee failures before they occur, plan infrastructure investments with confidence, and implement improvements that reduce flood hazards and protect public safety.
StormWise™ brings clarity to a traditionally complex challenge, redefining how engineers and communities evaluate, manage, and adapt their stormwater infrastructure. It equips decision-makers with the insight needed to reinforce aging systems today while providing the strategic foresight essential for meeting tomorrow’s storms with clarity and confidence.
Connect with our team to discover how StormWise™ can empower your team with the clarity, confidence, and technical insight needed to strengthen aging stormwater systems and prepare for the stormwaters of tomorrow, today.