Synthesis analysis on urban stormwater runoff

The aim of the call is to synthesize the current state of knowledge and identify knowledge gaps within the research area of stormwater runoff. The overarching aim is to develop policy instruments within a sustainable stormwater management and in longer term to achieve the Swedish environmental quality objectives.

The primary target group is administrators and investigators at the Swedish EPA and SwAM working with stormwater management. The results shall even support other agencies, municipalities, regions and county administrative boards and other target groups with interest in stormwater management.

There is a great knowledge need in the area of stormwater management in order to guide authorities and individuals. This has been described in the government assignment: Analys av kunskapsläget för dagvattenproblematiken (2017) and Förslag till etappmål om dagvatten (2019) and even of researchers who work in this area (Luleå University of Technology, 2021). There is a need to manage and prioritise among already known possible measures to ensure compliance with both current and future national and international environmental requirements and environmental quality objectives.

In coming years, the European Commission will advance its positions to achieve environmental goals aimed at e.g. increased circular resource management, climate, non-toxic environment, and biodiversity. Several processes that directly concern various aspects of wastewater and wastewater management (including stormwater runoff) have already been initiated or are planned in a near future. For example, the Wastewater Directive is revised, the EU Sewage Sludge Directive is evaluated, and a new EU regulation on wastewater recycling will enter into force 2023. Work on the Water Framework Directive is approaching a decision before 2027 which is the final target year under the Directive.

The Swedish government has recently developed a strategy for a circular economy (M2020/01133) with the ambition to move towards more resource-efficiency with reduced amount of unwanted substances with an increase in supply and demand for secondary raw materials. Work on stormwater runoff is clearly linked to several environmental objectives at national and international level within the EU and Agenda 2030 related to non-toxic environment, biodiversity, sustainable and circular economy, reduced eutrophication, and climate adaptation. Nationally, there are links to two milestone targets regarding stormwater runoff.

Knowledge syntheses are important for supporting the work of the Swedish EPA, SwAM and other agencies and actors. Knowledge on stormwater runoff is especially important in the work for identifying needs for and contributing to the development of new or existing policy instruments for sustainable stormwater management. The agencies also need to gain an overview of existing knowledge and research results as a basis for prioritization and development of work with the development of indicators, measurement methods, guidelines, regulations, and solutions. This knowledge provides support in permit testing, in supervisory guidance, in assessment of grants, and in coordination of work on stormwater, such as in connection with joint government assignments. The results can contribute to an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable development. Identification of the knowledge gaps can further support work on preparing the basis for proposals for a possible future research call. Results of knowledge syntheses will be communicated nationally and could contribute with knowledge beyond the agencies’ specific tasks.

In 2020, Luleå University of Technology (LTU) had an assignment from the Swedish EPA to collect knowledge about research on stormwater runoff, relevant to the Nordic climate. The purpose of the assignment was to provide an overall update on Swedish stormwater research in a national and international context. A synthesis report Systematic reivew of urban stormwater research in Sweden (2012–2021) was submitted to the Swedish EPA during the summer of 2021. In this report, 149 scientific articles were reviewed. Based on the content the Swedish EPA and SwAM have identified the need for further synthesis and analysis within a few major areas. A selection has been made of the areas identified in the LTU report for further synthesis. These areas are the impact of stormwater runoff on recipients, planning and implementation of blue-green infrastructure (BGI), and driving forces and obstacles regarding the implementation of sustainable stormwater management.

A systematic review and a mapping and compilation of existing national and international knowledge is needed based on the questions below. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, a synthesis should include government reports and other ”grey” literature relevant to Swedish conditions. It must be clearly described which criteria have been applied to the literature which are included, and which method is to be used for the literature search. The synthesis should also present a balanced analysis of the questions where the conclusions are discussed in a clear and transparent way in terms of validity and reliability. In addition, knowledge gaps should be pointed out as well as recommendations for future research and policy work.

The goal is to fund up to two synthesis projects, which respond to one or more of the priority areas below. The syntheses should analyze existing knowledge from Sweden and the other Nordic countries as well as from countries with a climate that corresponds to the Nordic climate.

The three priority areas are: 

• Impacts on recipients
  Discharge of stormwater, its impact on recipients and their ecological and chemical status. It includes the biodiversity of recipients such as fauna in sediments and fully or partly aquatic organisms, or organisms depending on the coastal zone. This includes the effects of snowmelt and first flush on the receiving water. The study may include a certain described stormwater but also the impact of various specific pollutants in stormwater.

• Design and implementation
  Design and maintenance of stormwater treatment systems and BGI, such as aquifers, constructed wetlands, multifunctional surfaces, stormwater dams, biofilter and/or advanced technical solutions to achieve the desired results. Maintaining the results over time both through dry and wet periods, snowmelt and first flush depending on season and weather and by taking into account the current and future climate.

• Incentives and societal acceptance
  Driving forces for implementation (e.g. stormwater as a resource, ecosystem services and BGI, societal benefits with multifunctional stormwater plants, cost-benefit analysis) as well as obstacles to acceptance of sustainable stormwater management (e.g. conflicts of interest, risks, unclear division of responsibilities).

The applicant decides the focus of the synthesis based on the three priority areas described above. One priority area or a combination of several can be applied for. A maximum of SEK 1.5 million and a maximum period of 1.5 years can be applied for per synthesis. It is important that the relevance for the Swedish EPA, SwAM and other relevant stakeholders is clearly stated in the application. We would encourage the applicants to suggest synthesis work with active collaboration with target groups.

The application will not be accepted if the maximum funding amount (SEK 1.5 million) is exceeded. It is important to emphasize that the synthesis work here refers to the integration of existing data in order to increase the usefulness of research results and not the production of new data (new research). Therefore, applications for research projects will not be considered for funding.

The main applicant must hold a PhD and conduct research at a university, college, research institute, or government agency carrying out research as part of its mandate. The main applicant shall be affiliated with a Swedish organization with a corporate identity number. (”organisationsnummer”).

If the main applicant and co-applicants were granted funding from the Swedish EPA within earlier calls, any due final report should have been submitted and approved to be considered for funding within this call. Granted projects are expected to participate in the Swedish EPA's annual research conference and yearly status meetings and to allocate resources for communicating the results with the funders and other stakeholders.

• Deadline for applications: September 7th, 2022 14.00 o’clock (2PM)
• Funding decision: January 2023
• Project start: March 2023

Senior research officer Neda Farahbakhshazad
Email: neda.farahba@naturvardsverket.se
Phone: 010-698 12 50

Senior research officer Karin Hansen
Email: karin.hansen@naturvardsverket.se
Phone: 010-698 13 28

Analys av kunskapsläget för dagvattenproblematiken (pdf 674 kB). 

Föroreningar i dagvatten (pdf 673 kB)

Förslag till etappmål om dagvatten (2019).  

Cirkulär ekonomi - strategi för omställningen i Sverige (2020) 

Luleå tekniska universitets syntesrapport 2021. L Lundy, G Blecken, H Österlund and M Viklander, Systematic review of urban stormwater research in Sweden (2012–2021).