Fall Stormwater Readiness: 7 Things to Check Before the Wet Season
As summer construction activity begins to transition into fall, changing weather can create new challenges for stormwater management.
More frequent rainfall, shorter daylight hours, falling leaves, changing site conditions, and approaching winter weather can all affect the performance of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). Controls that worked throughout the summer may need maintenance, modification, or replacement before wetter conditions arrive.
For contractors, inspectors, site superintendents, SWPPP developers, and environmental professionals, early fall is a good opportunity to take a closer look at the site and ask an important question:
Are our stormwater controls ready for the next significant rain event?
Here are seven areas to review as your site prepares for the fall wet season.
1. Inspect and Maintain Existing BMPs
Start with the controls already in place.
After months of construction activity, BMPs may be damaged, filled with sediment, improperly positioned, or simply no longer appropriate for current site conditions.
Inspect controls such as silt fence, sediment barriers, inlet protection, check dams, sediment traps and basins, construction entrances, diversion controls, and stabilized areas.
Look beyond whether a BMP is simply present. Ask whether it is still capable of performing its intended function.
A damaged silt fence or sediment-filled inlet protection may technically still be on the site, but that does not mean it will perform effectively during the next storm.
Fall readiness tip: Address maintenance and repairs before significant rainfall is forecast rather than waiting for a storm to reveal the problem.
2. Review Stabilization Throughout the Site
Exposed soil is one of the most obvious areas of concern when rainfall increases.
Walk the site and identify disturbed areas that are inactive, completed, or expected to remain untouched for an extended period. Depending on permit requirements and site conditions, these areas may require temporary or permanent stabilization.
Pay particular attention to slopes, soil stockpiles, recently graded areas, drainage pathways, and areas where vegetation has struggled to establish.
Also inspect areas that were stabilized earlier in the season. Vegetation, mulch, erosion control blankets, and other stabilization measures can deteriorate or become damaged over time.
The goal is not simply to install stabilization—it is to make sure it remains effective.
3. Check Inlets, Outfalls, and Drainage Paths
Water will find a path across your site. Understanding where it will go before the next storm can help prevent problems.
Inspect storm drain inlets and surrounding inlet protection for accumulated sediment, damage, bypass potential, or debris. During the fall, leaves and other organic material can also collect around drainage structures and interfere with flow.
Next, follow the expected drainage path downstream.
Look for signs of erosion, concentrated flow, sediment deposition, channel formation, or areas where runoff could leave the permitted site.
Finally, inspect discharge points and outfalls for evidence that previous storms have caused erosion or transported sediment.
Think like the runoff: If a heavy rain started right now, where would the water go—and what would it encounter along the way?
4. Evaluate Construction Entrances and Track-Out Controls
Wet weather and active construction can quickly turn entrances into problem areas.
Mud and sediment carried onto public roads can create stormwater compliance concerns while also becoming a safety and housekeeping issue.
Inspect stabilized construction entrances to make sure they remain adequately maintained and effective for current traffic levels. Look for sediment buildup, insufficient stone, rutting, or vehicles bypassing designated entrances.
Also evaluate how track-out is being addressed once it occurs.
If crews are repeatedly cleaning sediment from the roadway, consider whether the source of the problem needs to be addressed rather than relying entirely on cleanup.
5. Review Material Storage and Pollution Prevention Areas
Stormwater management involves more than sediment and erosion.
Construction sites may contain fuels, concrete materials, paints, chemicals, waste containers, portable toilets, equipment maintenance areas, and other potential pollutant sources.
Before wetter weather arrives, review how these materials and activities are managed.
Check that containers are properly stored, spill response materials are available, waste is being managed appropriately, and pollution prevention controls are in good condition.
Concrete washout areas deserve particular attention. Make sure they have adequate capacity, remain structurally sound, and are positioned to prevent contact with stormwater or unauthorized discharge.
Preventing pollutants from contacting stormwater in the first place is often much easier than dealing with a release after it occurs.
6. Make Sure the SWPPP Reflects Current Site Conditions
Construction sites change constantly.
A SWPPP that accurately represented the project earlier in the year may no longer match what is happening in the field.
New drainage patterns may have developed. BMPs may have been moved. Construction phases may have changed. Areas may have been stabilized, while new areas have been disturbed.
Fall is a good time to compare the SWPPP and site map against actual field conditions.
Ask:
- Are current BMP locations accurately documented?
- Have drainage patterns changed?
- Are new disturbed areas reflected?
- Have completed or stabilized areas been updated?
- Are corrective actions and modifications properly documented?
- Do site personnel understand recent changes?
The SWPPP should be a working compliance tool—not a document that sits untouched while the site evolves.
7. Prepare Your Stormwater Team
Even well-designed controls require people to inspect, maintain, document, and respond to changing conditions.
Before the wet season, make sure everyone involved understands their responsibilities.
Inspectors should know what conditions require attention. Superintendents and project managers should understand how corrective actions are communicated and prioritized. Field crews should know how to recognize damaged BMPs and who to contact when problems occur.
It is also worth reviewing procedures for significant weather events. Who checks the site? Who coordinates repairs? Are materials available if a BMP fails? How quickly can corrective actions be implemented?
Clear communication before a storm can make the response afterward much more effective.
Don't Wait for the First Big Storm
The best time to discover a stormwater problem is before the rain starts.
A relatively small maintenance issue during dry weather can become a much larger problem once runoff begins moving across an active construction site.
Use the transition into fall as an opportunity to walk the site, review your controls, update documentation, communicate with your stormwater team, and address vulnerabilities before wetter conditions put them to the test.
Stormwater compliance is not just about installing BMPs. It is about continually evaluating whether those controls are appropriate for current conditions and maintaining them so they can perform when they are needed most.
Strengthen Your Stormwater Knowledge This Fall
Preparing the site is only part of fall stormwater readiness. Preparing your team matters too.
StormwaterONE offers online, live virtual, and instructor-led stormwater training designed for the professionals responsible for keeping projects compliant—from SWPPP developers and inspectors to site supervisors and field personnel.
Looking to strengthen your inspection skills? Explore Qualified Compliance Inspector of Stormwater (QCIS) training.
Responsible for developing or maintaining SWPPPs? Build your knowledge with Qualified Preparer of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (QPSWPPP) training.
Want to improve erosion prediction and soil-loss planning? Explore our RUSLE2 Modeling training.
Whether you're preparing for the wet season or building your team's stormwater knowledge year-round, StormwaterONE can help you turn compliance requirements into practical skills you can use in the field.
Prepare now. Stay ahead of the rain. Protect water quality.