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

The Environmental Protection Agency sets the federal standards for how stormwater processing tools like retention ponds need to be constructed, but the agency doesn't require external modifications like fencing. —Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 18 Aug. 2025

The county awarded $300,000 to Calumet City to install stormwater bumpouts on Wentworth Avenue at 156th Street and 156th Place. —Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025

The Robb Field work includes new security cameras and pedestrian lighting, stormwater mitigation and landscape and site furnishings, according to city spokesman Tyler Becker. —Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025

The site includes stormwater ponds and a large prairie area intended for future development. —Erik S. Hanley, jsonline.com, 7 Aug. 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