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

Traffic burdens residents daily, and heavy rain keeps exposing the same stormwater weaknesses. — Miami Herald Staff, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

That means inspecting flood control and drainage systems, trimming trees that could knock down power lines during high winds, and reinforcing or maintaining infrastructure such as dams, stormwater channels, roads and bridges. — Bethany Tietjen, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026

Those could include efforts in flood prevention, stormwater system upgrades and wildfire mitigation. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Instead of being absorbed naturally into the ground, rainfall is directed into stormwater systems that can quickly become overwhelmed during heavy weather events. — Patty Templeton-Jones, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 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