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

To help pay for the stormwater improvements, the Naperville City Council approved the creation of an Eagle Crest business district in December 2022, allowing the city to collect an extra half-percent sales tax from purchases made within the district. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025

The stormwater fee is based on a property's impervious area. —Grace Hurt, Arkansas Online, 9 May 2025

No one will remember that regulators forced cities to pay for composting food waste or replacing truck fleets, or that stormwater regulators edged some number a little bit lower and caused counties to have to build costly new infrastructure, all billed to ratepayers. —Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 7 May 2025

Manning said that sinkholes do form occasionally in areas still waiting for their stormwater pipes to be replaced but aren’t a major safety concern in the city. —Taylor O’Connor, Kansas City Star, 29 Apr. 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