In the past, stormwater management techniques emphasized removing water quickly from a parcel, rushing large volumes of run-off to local streams. These techniques created high velocity streams of water that quickly eroded stream banks. Fast moving stormwater also picks up and carries pollution from our lawns, farms and roads and generally turns creeks and aquatic habitats into little more than open storm sewers.

The key to proper stormwater management is slowing the rate of run-off. This allows enough time for rainwater to infiltrate into the ground rather than running off into gutters and stormdrains. In turn, the local soils help filter many impurities out of the water. As more water infiltrates into the soil, stormwater run-off is slowed and streambank and swale erosion is minimized. So creeks end up healthier with better habitats and fewer pollutants. 

Rain Gardens: A rain garden is an area designed to allow stormwater to stand a short time while it slowly infiltrates into the ground. These can be constructed to fit into the larger landscape and add beauty to your yard all year long. To learn more about rain gardens visit: raingardennetwork.com

Rain Barrels: Most homesteads, farms and even urban homes once had a rain barrel or cistern to store rainwater for other uses. Rain water is "soft water" and is very easy on plants and even cars. Even if you don't use the rainwater in the barrel for any specific purpose, you can reduce the negative impacts of stormwater by allowing the rain barrel to empty slowly.
http://www.montgomeryconservation.org/barrel_program.htm

Naturalized Storm Basins: Many communities have stormwater detention basins as part of their open space. Basins are generally maintained throughout the growing season by mowing but homeowner's associations must also ensure that the basin continues to function properly year after year. Between the weekly mowing and regular inspections or retrofits, this can be a large expense for the community. Even worse, the expense of reconstructing a basin and possibly, repairing any properties downstream of a malfunctioning basin, can become extremely expensive and could include engineering and legal costs as well.

Standard basins that are little more than a large depression in the ground are the most expensive to maintain. Sometimes referred to as "bombcrater" basins, these structures do little to protect creeks from erosion, pollutants and water heated by pavement and roofs. "Bombcrater" basins also require weekly mowing from spring through the fall and provide absolutely no value to the landscape in terms of habitat.

The answer is a naturalized basin. In most cases all that is required is the introduction of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers and the elimination of weekly mowing. The introduction of plants slows the rainwater and allows it more time to infiltrate into the ground rather than flow through the basin. The plants also help filter out the pollutants from our driveways, roads and parking lots that have a negative impact on aquatic habitats.