Historically, most demographic data for states and substate areas were collected from the long version of the decennial census questionnaire. A “snapshot” of the characteristics of the population on the April 1 census date was available once every 10 years. The long form of the decennial census has been replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS) that has been conducted on an ongoing basis for the entire country since 2005. Instead of a snapshot in which all of the data are gathered at one time, the ACS aggregates data collected over time, making the results more difficult to interpret. However, the ACS data are updated annually.

A practical guide to the American Community Survey (3-year estimates)

https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/preview/887749/WR37311_post-peerreview%28Campisanoetal2017%29.pdf

Urban rainwater harvesting systems: Research, implementation and future perspectives.

Urban rainwater harvesting systems: Research, implementation and future perspectives (vol 115, pg 195, 2017)

Modeling flood reduction effects of low impact development at a watershed scale.

Integrated assessments of green infrastructure for flood mitigation to support robust decision-making for sponge city construction in an urbanized watershed.

This article presents an analysis of the projected performance of urban residential rainwater harvesting systems in the United States (U.S.). The objectives are to quantify for 23 cities in seven climatic regions (1) water supply provided from rainwater harvested at a residential parcel and (2) stormwater runoff reduction from a residential drainage catchment. Water-saving efficiency is determined using a water-balance approach applied at a daily time step for a range of rainwater cistern sizes. The results show that performance is a function of cistern size and climatic pattern. A single rain barrel (190 l [50 gal]) installed at a residential parcel is able to provide approximately 50% water-saving efficiency for the nonpotable indoor water demand scenario in cities of the East Coast, Southeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, but <30% water-saving efficiency in cities of the Mountain West, Southwest, and most of California. Stormwater management benefits are quantified using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model. The results indicate that rainwater harvesting can reduce stormwater runoff volume up to 20% in semiarid regions, and less in regions receiving greater rainfall amounts for a long-term simulation. Overall, the results suggest that U.S. cities and individual residents can benefit from implementing rainwater harvesting as a stormwater control measure and as an alternative source of water.

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Water Supply and Stormwater Management Benefits of Residential Rainwater Harvesting in U.S. Cities

Hydrologic modeling analysis of a passive, residential rainwater harvesting program in an urbanized, semi-arid watershed

Potential of green infrastructure to restore predevelopment water budget of a semi-arid urban catchment

Evaluation of three vegetation treatments in bioretention gardens in a semi-arid climate

Bioretention as sustainable urban stormwater management has gathered much recent attention, and implementation is expanding in mesic locations that receive more than 1,000 mm of annual precipitation. The arid southwestern United States is the fastest growing and most urbanized region in the country. Consequently, there is a need to establish design recommendations for bioretention to control stormwater from expanding urban development in this ecologically sensitive region. Therefore, we review the ecological limits and opportunities for designing bioretention in arid and semiarid regions. We incorporated USEPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) simulations to synthesize ecologically based design recommendations for bioretention in arid climates. From our review, an ideal bioretention garden area should be 6 to 8% of the contributing impervious drainage area (depending on region) with two layers of media, a 0.5-m low-nutrient topsoil layer above a 0.6-m porous media layer that acts as temporary storage during a storm event. When planted with the suggested vegetation, this design maximizes stormwater treatment by promoting ecological treatment in the topsoil while promoting infiltration and evapotranspiration of stormwater by deep-rooted shrubs that require no irrigation after establishment. This synthesis improves water resources management in arid and semiarid regions by introducing a sustainable bioretention design that protects local surface waters while reducing regional water demands for irrigation.

Christine Pomeroy

Papers

Water Supply and Stormwater Management Benefits of Residential Rainwater Harvesting in U.S. Cities

Hydrologic modeling analysis of a passive, residential rainwater harvesting program in an urbanized, semi-arid watershed

Potential of green infrastructure to restore predevelopment water budget of a semi-arid urban catchment

Evaluation of three vegetation treatments in bioretention gardens in a semi-arid climate

Bioretention Design for Xeric Climates Based on Ecological Principles1