An effective stormwater plan is based on the identification of the dominant site factors and the review of the full suite of practices that are available. The basic steps for developing an effective stormwater management plan are:

1. Assess site conditions
2. Understand hydrologic conditions of concern
3. Evaluate pollutants of concern
4. Identify candidate BMPs
5. Determine BMP size/capacity
6. Develop ownership and maintenance responsibility plan

No single BMP can address all stormwater problems, therefore developing an effective stormwater management plan depends on making effective BMP choices and combinations. This Interactive Manual (IM) contains commonly used Best Management Practices (BMPs) for management of stormwater quality and quantity in the urban environment. The next sections of the IM are aimed at facilitating the selection of the appropriate BMP function of the site characteristics (step 4 above).