Stormwater Management Unit

Our goal is to promote and maintain stormwater management systems along MassDOT roadways, which provide safe driving and protect the health of nearby waterbodies.

About us

Our unit ensures that MassDOT projects and operations meet state and federal stormwater regulations. Specific tasks we do include the following:

• Stormwater Design: We provide stormwater-related guidance to designers and plan for future stormwater projects. See our Stormwater Design Guide and Water Quality Data Form for stormwater design guidance on MassDOT projects.
• Impaired Waters Program: We developed an Impaired Waters Program to reduce MassDOT's contribution of pollutants to those waterbodies through the construction of stormwater control measures. Through the Impaired Waters Program, we continue to construct more stormwater control measures where they are needed to improve water quality.
• Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Program: Keeping the stormwater system functioning is important to us. Therefore, our crews track the inspection and maintenance of the treatment systems, including good housekeeping measures such as catch basin cleaning, street sweeping, and litter removal.
• Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) Program: We are committed to ensuring that MassDOT’s stormwater system is free of contaminants, such as hazardous waste, sewage, or oil and grease. When illicit discharges (i.e., discharges not composed entirely of stormwater) are identified, they are removed in accordance with our Drainage Connection Policy. If you observe a potential illicit discharge, contact your district office using this link: Find your Highway District Office.
• Construction Site Runoff Control: Providing erosion and sediment control measures during construction is important to protecting water quality. Therefore, all MassDOT projects require a plan to control erosion, sedimentation, and other pollutants during construction. During design, we provide guidance on the erosion and sediment control requirements to include in the contract documents.
• Drainage Infrastructure Inventory: We own and maintain an extensive network of roadways and associated stormwater system infrastructure throughout the state. We map and track our stormwater assets in data layers available on GeoDOT.

Related resources

• MassDOT Water Quality Data Form
• Water Quality Data Form Training Video
• MassDOT Stormwater Management Memo for Bridges Template
• MassDOT Stormwater Management Report Template
• MassDOT O&M Plan and LTPPP Templates
• Macro Approach Example
• Engineering Directive E-20-003 on Location and Design of Stormwater BMPs
• Stormwater Design Guide
• Stormwater Management Plan
• NPDES Annual Reports
• Drainage Connection Policy
• Connection or Discharge to any MassDOT Drainage System Standard Operating Procedure
• Impaired Waters Assessments
• Drainage Infrastructure Inventory on GeoDOT