Using Value-Focused Thinking to Evaluate the Use of Innovative Stormwater Management Technologies on Air Force Installations

Stormwater runoff occurs naturally after every storm event; however, traditional development practices have created many impervious surfaces (e.g., buildings, parking lots, streets) that increase runoff volume and flow rate. Conventional stormwater management practices focus on collecting runoff into centralized channels and conveying it as quickly as possible to local bodies of water. This type of conveyance system decreases the opportunity for stormwater to naturally infiltrate back into the ground. It also prevents contaminants from being naturally filtered out of stormwater flows. As a result, centralized conveyance systems can cause flooding, erosion, and terrestrial/aquatic habitat degradation. Innovative stormwater management strategies treat stormwater on-site by encouraging infiltration, decreasing flow rates, and reducing pollutant loads. Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) was used in this research to develop a decision analysis model to assist Air Force decision makers in evaluating and selecting innovative stormwater management strategies. VFT is a multi-objective decision analysis model that compares alternatives based on the values of the decision maker. Nine stormwater technologies were evaluated across thirteen evaluation measures. Through deterministic analysis and sensitivity analysis, a grassed swale was found to be the top alternative, followed very closely by the infiltration basin and wet detention options. VFT proved to be a useful methodology in producing an objective solution to this complex, multi-objective decision problem.