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

But crucial to the redevelopment are infrastructure costs, including less-sexy elements like water, stormwater and sewer systems that are in need of improvements alongside work on sidewalks, parking, lighting, outdoor gathering space and the like. —Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 26 Nov. 2025

Its docket spans wetland protections, Endangered Species Act issues, stormwater and sprawl, and the hard details of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. —Emily Bramhall, Miami Herald, 20 Nov. 2025

The roughly 51-mile channel continues to serve as a hydro-highway shuttling stormwater runoff from the mountains to the sea. —Emma Bowman, NPR, 17 Nov. 2025

The city also agreed to allocate over $200 million to renovate Queensbridge Houses and to improve sewer and stormwater infrastructure in the neighborhood. —Clio Chang, Curbed, 12 Nov. 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