2022 Stormwater Symposium

The Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP) is pleased to announce that the biennial Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium will be held Oct. 12 and 13 on the campus of Villanova University. The Symposium has served as the leading convener of experts dedicated to promoting green stormwater infrastructure to combat urban flooding and protect environmental quality. VUSP is a program of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems (VCRWS) whose mission is to “advance the evolving field of sustainable stormwater management and foster the development of public and private partnerships through research.” 

The theme for the 2022 Stormwater Symposium is Infrastructure. Resilience. Equity. Over the course of the two-day program, attendees will learn about innovations in green stormwater infrastructure from a diverse group of professionals representing the academic, nonprofit, government and industry sectors. The intent is to foster multidisciplinary collaboration across technical fields as well as greater inclusion in the engineering workforce, resulting in truly resilient solutions to stormwater.

Symposium Highlights

In addition to keynote presentations, technical sessions and moderated panel discussions, the Symposium will feature almost 50 abstracts from the stormwater community, research updates from VUSP researchers and booths from vendors.

Plenary Speakers

Wednesday, Oct 12th

The Rev. Peter Donohue, OSA, PhD, President, Villanova University, will provide the Opening Address for the 2022 Stormwater Symposium. 

Angus Welch, Physical Scientist, U.S. EPA Region 3, Office of Communities, Tribes & Environmental Assessment, will address the Symposium’s theme of Infrastructure, Resilience and Equity in his presentation “Introduction to EJScreen: U.S. EPA’s Tool to Identify and Address Environmental Justice Concerns across the Country.”

Rob Traver, PhD, VCRWS & VUSP Director, Villanova University, will conclude with comments and an overview of the two-day program.

Thursday, Oct 13th

Randy Hayman, Esq., Commissioner & CEO, Philadelphia Water Department, will also address the Symposium’s theme in his presentation on the department’s water equity initiatives.

Symposium Special Sessions

We have an exciting array of Symposium special sessions throughout the two days. Our first panel is titled Equitable Engineering in Practice and Within Our Community. Also of great interest on Wednesday is a panel discussing the Post Construction Stormwater Management Manual Update, with representatives from PaDEP, Villanova, and NTM. For the first time we have three Villanova research sessions:

1) Villanova Campus Sites: Findings Update which will present results from our on-campus research sites funded through the Growing Greener and 319 program.

2) Delaware River Watershed Initiative: Monitoring and Assessment Research in Suburban Watersheds.

3) Research Findings from an Integrated Approach to GSI Analysis, presenting research results from the I-95 Girard Avenue Interchange Stormwater Project.

Details of two other panels are still in development. We will close Thursday with VUSP Panel: Implications for Design Based on Research where the VUSP faculty researchers will discuss what we have learned since 2019, and more importantly what we expect to be discussing in 2024.

Symposium Presentations

Nearly 50 abstracts were selected for presentation at the Symposium and are organized by themes such as Stormwater Infrastructure, Environmental Justice and Case Studies. We are in the process of assigning individual presentations to overarching themes; the full list of Symposium Abstracts can be found here.

Networking & Community Building

We anticipate over 325 attendees representing a diverse cross-sector of stakeholders in the stormwater management community. We have built ample networking opportunities into the agenda—breaks, lunches and the Wine & Cheese Social—to provide time to make professional connections and build community.