stormwater

noun

storm·​wa·​ter ˈstȯrm-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

: rainwater produced by a storm

a stormwater management system

As stormwater runs over lawns, streets and other man-made surfaces, it picks up pollutants—phosphorous and nitrogen from fertilizers, bacteria from pet waste and road salt, to name a few—and carries them into local streams and lakes.

—Delen Goldberg

This rainfall "of biblical proportions," as the local newspaper described it, swamped the city in waist-high stormwater.

—Christopher Cooper and Robert Block

Examples of stormwater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The developers also proposed creating new private access roads, landscaping, utilities and detention ponds for stormwater. — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 21 July 2026

Urban runoff filled with a noxious brew of fertilizers, stormwater and sewage has flowed into the Seminole County lake from as far as Orlando, Winter Park and Altamonte Springs for decades. — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026

While the river is no longer the primary threat, aging stormwater infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with increasingly intense rainfall, so the community keeps having to recover. — Michelle Oliva-Espinosa, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026

The initial work will include removing the existing undersized water and sewer infrastructure and installing new water, sanitary sewer and stormwater systems that will serve the new development and nearby homes. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stormwater

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• headwater