Paving the Way

From Results

Downpours often pollute North Carolina’s waterways when stormwater washes oil, gravel, pollen and other debris off the pavement into nearby streams. One inch of rain on a one-acre parking lot can send 27,000 gallons of water gushing into storm drains. NC State researchers have developed practices for controlling such runoff and are helping craft state and local regulations to limit its impact in the future.

Dr. Bill Hunt has been a guru of stormwater management technologies since joining NC State in the mid-1990s, shortly after lawmakers adopted the Neuse River rules to cut pollution that had resulted in fish kills. 

“The General Assembly decided that farmers shouldn’t be the only ones responsible. They wanted to make everyone limit runoff,” says Hunt, an associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

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