STORMWATER SYMPOSIUM
2026
Propelling Solutions
THE VILLANOVA URBAN STORMWATER PARTNERSHIP (VUSP), with the mission to advance the evolving field of sustainable stormwater management and to foster the development of public and private partnerships through research, is part of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems (VCRWS), which conducts interdisciplinary research—environmental, geotechnical, water resources—to engage with society to create resilient solutions to global water challenges.
THE VILLANOVA URBAN STORMWATER PARTNERSHIP (VUSP) acknowledges that many of our research efforts are conducted on the traditional and ancestral home of the Lenni-Lenape Native Americans.
We encourage you to visit lenape-nation.org
for additional information on the Lenni-Lenape people.
SYMPOSIUM AGENDA WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 7:30 AM
REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
8:45 AM
WELCOME
9:00 AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Connelly Center Lobby — First and Second Floor
Villanova Room
Villanova Room
Benjamin C. Jewell, Water Commissioner, City of Philadelphia
10:00 AM
BREAK
10:15 AM
TECHNICAL SESSION 1A
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
Villanova Room
Flood Risk Assessment and Urban Flood Modeling
TECHNICAL SESSION 2A
11:15 AM 11:35 AM
Cinema
Advanced Hydraulic and Hydrologic Modeling
BREAK Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
TECHNICAL SESSION 1B Villanova Room
Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design and Performance TECHNICAL SESSION 2B Cinema
12:20 PM
GSI Construction, Materials, and Maintenance LUNCH Dougherty Hall
SYMPOSIUM AGENDA WEDNESDAY CONTINUED 1:00 PM
POSTER SESSION
2:00 PM
TECHNICAL SESSION 1C
Villanova Room
Villanova Room
tormwater and Watershed Water Quality and S Treatment
TECHNICAL SESSION 2C Cinema
Climate Resilience and Community Adaptation
3:30 PM
BREAK
4:00 PM
TECHNICAL SESSION 1D
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
Villanova Room
Smart Stormwater Systems, Monitoring, and Digital Tools
TECHNICAL SESSION 2D
Ecology, Restoration, and Nature-Based Solutions
5:00 PM
Cinema
RECEPTION & POSTERS Villanova Room
SYMPOSIUM AGENDA THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 8:00 AM
REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
8:30 AM
CAFFEINE JOLT
9:10 AM
BREAK
9:30 AM
Connelly Center Lobby — First and Second Floor
Villanova Room
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
POSTERS Villanova Room
TECHNICAL SESSION 1E Villanova Room
Planning, Policy, and Governance
TECHNICAL SESSION 2E
Cinema
Stormwater Products and Infrastructure
10:45 AM
BREAK
11:00 AM
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
11:05 AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
Villanova Room
Villanova Room
Melinda Daniels, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Stroud Water Research Center
11:50 AM
LUNCH
Dougherty Hall
POSTERS Villanova Room
SYMPOSIUM AGENDA THURSDAY CONTINUED 12:50 PM
SPECIAL SESSION Villanova Room
Bringing Resilience to Stormwater Management in Pennsylvania — an Update on the Pennsylvania PostConstruction Stormwater Management Manual (PCSM)
1:30 PM
BREAK
1:40 PM
TECHNICAL SESSION 1F
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
Partnerships, Engagement, and Collaborative Delivery Villanova Room
TECHNICAL SESSION 2F
Stormwater Innovation and Emerging Technologies
Cinema
2:40 PM
BREAK
3:00 PM
TECHNICAL SESSION 1G
Connelly Center Lobby — First Floor
Villanova Room
Planning and Implementation Case Studies
TECHNICAL SESSION 2G
Regional and Watershed Case Studies
Cinema
KEYNOTE SPEAKER DAY 1 BENJAMIN C. JEWELL Water Commissioner, City of Philadelphia Benjamin C. Jewell serves as the water commissioner for the City of Philadelphia, a role to which he was appointed by Mayor Cherelle Parker in October 2025. A veteran of the Philadelphia Water Department since 2007, Jewell brings a “boots-on-the-ground” perspective to the city’s most vital utility. Jewell oversees a $1.5 billion annual budget, a dedicated team of 2,200 professionals, and the intricate systems that keep Philadelphia running, including six major treatment plants and a vast network of water mains, sewers, pump stations, inlets, outfalls, fire hydrants, and other critical infrastructure. A graduate of Northwestern University, he balances technical precision with a deep-seated commitment to public service, ensuring every Philadelphian has access to safe, reliable water. Jewell is committed to modernizing Philadelphia’s critical infrastructure and safeguarding the city’s water resources for future generations.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER DAY 2 MELINDA DANIELS, PhD Senior Research Scientist, Stroud Water Research Center Melinda Daniels, PhD, serves as a senior research scientist and principal investigator of the Fluvial Geomorphology Group at the Stroud Water Research Center. An internationally recognized expert in river systems, watershed management and stream restoration, Dr. Daniels studies the interactions among hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology in both natural and human-modified landscapes. She also holds academic appointments with the University of Pennsylvania, Kansas State University and the University of Delaware. Dr. Daniels’ research focuses on improving the understanding and management of rivers and watersheds, with particular emphasis on restoration, resilience, and the connections between people and freshwater systems. She earned her PhD in Physical Geography from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Research in Environmental Science from University College London, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Through her research, teaching, and outreach, Dr. Daniels advances science-based approaches that support healthier waterways and more sustainable communities.
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS TECHNICAL SESSION 1A: FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT AND URBAN FLOOD MODELING October 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM–11:15 AM | Villanova Room This session examines how urban flood risk can be quantified, simulated, and communicated under present and future conditions. Presentations address damage estimation, corridor and karst-watershed flooding, and forecasting tools that support real-time decisions and resilient planning.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2A: ADVANCED HYDRAULIC AND HYDROLOGIC MODELING October 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM–11:15 AM | Cinema This session explores advanced hydraulic and hydrologic modeling applications across complex terrain and infrastructure. Case studies compare one-, two-, and three-dimensional approaches for rainfall-runoff, culvert, spillway, bridge, and regulatory design challenges.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1B: GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE October 14, 2026 | 11:35 AM–12:35 PM | Villanova Room This session examines how green stormwater infrastructure performs from the site to the watershed scale under changing climate and urban soil conditions. Presentations address interconnected systems, flood mitigation, compacted soils, and emerging bioretention configurations.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2B: GSI CONSTRUCTION, MATERIALS, AND MAINTENANCE October 14, 2026 | 11:35 AM–12:20 PM | Cinema This session focuses on translating green stormwater infrastructure designs into durable, maintainable assets. Speakers share lessons from planning and construction, post-construction performance of subsurface gravel wetlands, and the design decisions that shape long-term maintenance.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1C: STORMWATER AND WATERSHED WATER QUALITY AND TREATMENT October 14, 2026 | 2:00 PM–3:30 PM | Villanova Room This session addresses how stormwater practices and watershed programs can improve water quality and protect receiving waters. Topics include pollutant-removal prioritization, metals and carbon in biofiltration, raingarden materials, microbial source tracking, and collaborative pathways to clean-water goals.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2C: CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND COMMUNITY ADAPTATION October 14, 2026 | 2:00 PM–3:30 PM | Cinema This session presents community-centered approaches to flood and climate resilience. Case studies highlight adaptive reuse, municipal flood planning, cloudburst strategies, waterfront resilience, and the partnerships needed to move projects from concept to implementation.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1D: SMART STORMWATER SYSTEMS, MONITORING, AND DIGITAL TOOLS October 14, 2026 | 4:00 PM–5:00 PM | Villanova Room This session highlights digital tools and monitoring strategies that make stormwater systems more responsive, transparent, and easier to manage. Topics include smart controls for extreme rainfall, digital operations and maintenance tools, and monitoring privately owned stormwater practices.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2D: ECOLOGY, RESTORATION, AND NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS October 14, 2026 | 4:00 PM–5:00 PM | Cinema This session explores stormwater management as an ecological and restoration opportunity. Presentations examine plant and microbial responses to salt and drought, 6PPD-Q impacts on salmon, green infrastructure as a protective strategy, and urban stream daylighting to reduce combined sewer overflows and restore habitat.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1E: PLANNING, POLICY, AND GOVERNANCE October 15, 2026 | 9:30 AM–10:45 AM | Villanova Room This session examines the policy, regulatory, and governance conditions that shape stormwater and green-infrastructure planning and implementation. Speakers address adoption barriers, changing regulations, ordinance auditing, and the effects of performance-based development standards.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2E: STORMWATER PRODUCTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE October 15, 2026 | 9:30 AM–10:45 AM | Cinema This session focuses on products, materials, and instrumentation that support reliable stormwater infrastructure. Presentations cover product evaluation, buried pipe design, retrofit projects, sensor-enabled permeable pavement, and quality control for large-scale monitoring.
SPECIAL SESSION: BRINGING RESILIENCE TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA — AN UPDATE ON THE PENNSYLVANIA POST-CONSTRUCTION STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL (PCSM) October 15, 2026 | 12:50 PM–1:30 PM | Villanova Room Panelists Sean Furjanic, PE, Chief, NPDES Permitting Division, PA DEP Robert Traver, PhD, PE, Professor, Villanova University Amanda Hess, PhD, PE, Research Assistant Professor, Villanova University Jeffrey MacKay, PE, CPESC, Vice President, Stormwater and Civil/Site Division, NTM Engineering The session will start with an update on the manual revision. The panelists will then discuss how resilience is being brought to stormwater management through the manual. A prime focus of resilient stormwater is for stormwater control measures to meet their design intent over an extended lifespan with routine maintenance.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1F: PARTNERSHIPS, ENGAGEMENT, AND COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY October 15, 2026 | 1:40 PM–2:40 PM | Villanova Room This session examines collaboration as a core strategy for delivering equitable and effective stormwater projects. Presentations cover schoolyard improvements, knowledge transfer between research and practice, and community-based partnership models for scaling green stormwater infrastructure.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2F: STORMWATER INNOVATION AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES October 15, 2026 | 1:40 PM–2:40 PM | Cinema This session showcases emerging methods for evaluating and designing next-generation stormwater systems. Topics include capturing multiple green-infrastructure benefits, improving infiltration modeling with field and sensor data, and updating design assumptions for intensifying cloudbursts.
TECHNICAL SESSION 1G: PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION CASE STUDIES October 15, 2026 | 3:00 PM–4:00 PM | Villanova Room This session features practical case studies of stormwater planning and project delivery across watersheds, parks, municipalities, and rights-of-way. Speakers share replicable approaches for moving from assessment and master planning to constructed green stormwater infrastructure.
TECHNICAL SESSION 2G: REGIONAL AND WATERSHED CASE STUDIES October 15, 2026 | 3:00 PM–4:00 PM | Cinema This session highlights integrated watershed and regional case studies that combine flood mitigation, ecological restoration, water quality, and community engagement. Projects demonstrate how modeling, infrastructure investment, habitat restoration, and flow reintroduction can advance multiple resilience goals.
ABOUT US The mission of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP) is to advance the evolving field of sustainable stormwater management and to foster the development of public and private partnerships through research. VUSP is part of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems (VCRWS), which engages with society to create resilient solutions to global water challenges through interdisciplinary engineering research.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER Partnerships only accelerate progress, and we at VUSP are focused on providing our members with research updates, timely content, and purposeful community.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP • Discounted Symposium admission and booth charges • Newsletter with all partner logos, and a section highlighting our partners for the stormwater community • Professional Development Hour form with every VUSP/VCRWS presentation • Library of past presentations and journal publication links • Library of theses/dissertations • Annual discussion of research lessons learned and needs with partners • Annual partners tour of our research sites • Networking opportunities with our soon-to-graduate student researchers • Staying up to date with our cutting-edge research
@vcrwsteam
VUSP@villanova.edu
Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems
PARTNERS AECOM-Research Aterra Solutions Contech Engineered Solutions LLC
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson Inc.
Philadelphia Water Department
Michael Baker International
Sci-Tek Consultants Inc.
National Municipal Stormwater Alliance
Ferguson Grist Hazen and Sawyer
Newell, Tereska & MacKay Engineering Inc.
Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc.
NV5 Inc.
Jacobs
OptiRTC Inc. (Research Partnership)
Soleno Sustainable Business Network T&M Associates Verdantas
Scan the QR code for abstracts, resources, and more information about the Stormwater Symposium.
EXHIBITORS Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.
Meter Group
Aterra Solutions
NTM Engineering Inc.
Contech Engineered Solutions LLC
Ott / In Situ
Ernst Seeds
Princeton Hydro
Ferguson
Soleno LLC
Hazen and Sawyer
Streamline Technologies Inc.
Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AKRF GeoStorage Corp. Hazen and Sawyer Streamline Technologies Inc.
HELPFUL INFORMATION • To connect to Wi-Fi, use the VUGuest network and enter your information on the Villanova Guest Wi-Fi Self Registration Portal page. • Professional Development Hours (PDH) are available. Forms are located in your symposium folder. Additional forms can be retrieved at any VUSP information desk.
STORMWATER SYMPOSIUM
Propelling Solutions
2026
JOIN US
OCTOBER
2028 FOR OUR NEXT
VUSP STORMWATER
SYMPOSIUM!