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

Construction is underway in an Oakland Park neighborhood to install sidewalks, add swales, and lay new stormwater drainage. —Ted Scouten, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025

On a natural barrier island, rain and stormwater would drain into surrounding waters or slowly trickle into the ground. —Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 1 Dec. 2025

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

The sewer maintenance fee will increase by cents per hundred cubic feet and the stormwater fee will increase by $1.04. —Vanessa Swales, jsonline.com, 26 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