This is the complex process of dealing with the problems associated with stormwater drainage in the urban environment. It has three main concerns – (a) the reduction of flooding and waterlogging effects, and (b) the control of pollution carried through stormwater drainage systems to vulnerable receiving waters, and (c) water harvesting. The use of stormwater in a sustainable way, as part of water-sensitive urban drainage systems, has become important in recent years, and there have been moves to have integrated water systems, combining water supply and sewerage with stormwater drainage. A common feature in all these stormwater management issues is that the processes are driven by rainfall or precipitation events.
Management involves engineering and scientific inputs, as well as administrative, financial and social skills. It is normally carried out by government bodies, which can balance the sometimes-conflicting interests involved in drainage. Since the construction of artificial drainage systems and associated land development impacts greatly on the pre-existing natural systems, there is a strong environmental element associated also with the protection of receiving waters.
Artificial drainage systems of all types require maintenance and management. Most are created to provide service over long periods and to be virtually permanent. Techniques of asset management must be applied to deal with deterioration and restoration of systems, and to ensure their efficient operation.