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

Wells for draining stormwater or otherwise recharging aquifers are by far the most common in Arizona. —Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Sep. 2025

The fees don’t include what a metro district might charge to put in curbs and stormwater systems or what a fire district might charge to provide protection. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025

These spaces help reduce the urban heat island effect, absorb stormwater, and introduce biodiversity into concrete jungles. —Nia Bowers, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025

The sewers underneath Burnet Woods, and throughout Cincinnati, take in both sewage and stormwater. —Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025

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