From Data to Dialogue: Communicating Stormwater Science – Dispatches from the CSN Intern Desk

This series explores advanced stormwater programs and their technical foundations, while also featuring conversations with practitioners and spotlighting real-world programs and case studies – offering insights for practitioners, policymakers, young professionals, and students across the Chesapeake Bay region.

Writing and Righting: Communicating the Science of Stormwater Management

By: Sofia Salvador-Turner
Featuring: David Hirschman, Hirschman Water & Environment, LLC

Dave Hirschman has spent decades shaping the field of stormwater management, beginning in the 1970s as a local government water resources manager. After earning his biology degree from Duke University, he worked before the widespread adoption of green infrastructure and helped implement one of the first bioretention sites in 1996. About ten years later, he joined the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), where he contributed to national and international projects, developed manuals, and led workshops in places like Guam and Utah. His later work in private practice and consulting, including with Biohabitats, has focused on urban design, resilience planning, and watershed-scale strategies.

Gaps in the System

From his experience, Hirschman sees one of the biggest knowledge gaps in stormwater management as a misunderstanding of scale. The Chesapeake Bay region stands far ahead of other parts of the country in knowledge and research, yet even there, practitioners still struggle to connect small-scale Best Management Practices, or BMPs, to the larger watershed outcomes they aim to improve. Many urban BMPs treat only a few acres, which raises important questions about cumulative effects. Hirschman often asks what the big-picture ramifications are and how professionals can know if their work truly benefits the watershed as a whole. 

He explains that removing phosphorus remains one of the most expensive and technically challenging parts of stormwater improvement, especially in dense urban centers like Baltimore. Cities frequently rely on credit trading systems that allow them to fund rural BMP projects to offset pollution locally. While this can be cost-effective, it risks disconnecting city residents from their own water quality issues. Hirschman argues that a stronger focus on integrated watershed management is needed, one that balances local investment with regional outcomes and considers ecological, financial, and policy tradeoffs together. 

To address these gaps, Hirschman believes the field must invest equally in science, policy, and communication. He points out that municipal stormwater programs, such as MS4 utilities, often involve staff, contractors, and developers who see compliance as a checklist rather than part of a larger environmental commitment. Building community understanding and buy-in, he says, depends on showing how individual projects contribute to larger restoration goals. Collaboration between engineers, planners, and environmental economists is also essential so that investments in BMPs are both cost-effective and verifiable. Policy frameworks should support creative, performance-based approaches rather than rigid regulatory formulas. 

How to Write Science

Hirschman also stresses the importance of communication skills among technical professionals. He observes that engineers and scientists often lack training in how to convey scientific information to non-experts, which creates barriers between research, policy, and public engagement. He encourages younger engineers to improve their ability to speak and write clearly about their work through activities such as public presentations and speaking groups. These skills, he says, are as essential as technical expertise for making lasting progress in water resources management. 

His personal interest in communication extends beyond his professional work. Through his novel The Tenacious Bloom and related blog posts, Hirschman explores environmental ideas through storytelling, translating complex scientific topics into accessible, emotional narratives. Writing has been a long-standing dream for him, and he views fiction as another vehicle for engaging people in environmental issues. He is already close to completing a second book that continues this blend of storytelling and ecological thought. 

Looking back on his career, Hirschman notes how stormwater management has evolved from a narrow focus on Total Maximum Daily Loads and nutrient reduction to a broader emphasis on climate resilience. With increased rainfall and more frequent flooding, cities now face the challenge of redesigning and financing drainage systems that can handle new environmental realities. He believes that the future of BMPs lies in integrating site-level practices like bioretention with wider land-use planning and urban design, ensuring that small interventions add up to meaningful watershed impacts. For him, the ultimate goal is creating systems that link engineering, ecology, and economics to build resilient and healthy communities.