Answer 20. “Best management practices” or BMPs is a term used to describe different ways to keep pollutants out of runoff and to slow down high volumes of runoff. Preventing pollution from entering water is much more affordable than cleaning polluted water. Educating residents about how to prevent pollution from entering waterways is one of many best management practices. Regulations that require people and businesses involved in earth disturbing activities, like construction and agriculture, to take steps to prevent erosion are another way to prevent stormwater pollution. There are also laws about litter, cleaning up after pets and dumping oil or other substances into storm drains. Education, laws, and construction codes are just a few best management practice examples.
In many instances, BMPs are physically constructed to protect specific areas. BMPS can be designed to slow down stormwater in order to reduce erosion, while others help reduce the pollutants already in it. There are also BMPs that do both. Good examples of constructed BMPs would be stormwater basins you see in neighborhoods, shopping centers, and industrial sites. Detention ponds fill up quickly after a rainstorm and allow solids like sediment and litter to settle at the pond bottom. Then, they slowly release water which is now less polluted into our streams, ponds, and rivers. These ponds are one example of a constructed BMP. Stream buffers, storm drain grates, filter strips, sediment fences, underground detention systems, and permeable paving are other examples. Here are some pictures of recent constructed BMPs:

These are before and after pictures of an erosion control BMP recently constructed at Guilford Road.


These are before and after pictures of a recently constructed stream restoration BMP.
