SCCWRP co-leading new regional center for stormwater best practices in U.S. Southwest

SCCWRP has been selected to co-lead a new regional knowledge center that will synthesize and translate growing knowledge about regional best-practices solutions for stormwater management and financing into actionable tools and guidance – insights that will be tailored to the unique stormwater management challenges confronting arid and semi-arid states.

The Southwest Stormwater Center (SWSC), which completed a quality assurance project plan in April that paves the way for the Center to begin its core work, is one of four regional Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The center is co-led by the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, and will serve Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

The Center will tackle five technical topics: BMP design and assessment, stormwater planning, stormwater capture and use, funding and financing, and stakeholder engagement. Many stormwater management solutions that are developed for wetter regions of the United States are not directly applicable to the arid and semi-arid Southwest, where rainfall events tend to be infrequent but intense.

To ensure Center products are optimally aligned to meet the needs of the stormwater management community, the Center will host a kickoff workshop June 9-10, 2026 at SCCWRP to solicit feedback on how to design technical tools, information and products for Southwestern states. For more information about the Center and the upcoming workshop, contact Dr. Elizabeth Fassman-Beck.