Analyzing Frequency, Costs, and Practitioner Insights in the Operation and Maintenance of Best Management Practices for the Virginia Department of Transportation
Professor University of Virginia, Virginia, United States
Abstract Submission: The lack of data on the frequency of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) specific maintenance tasks and their associated costs often hinders agencies' ability to maintain these systems effectively. This study examines 17,820 BMP inspection reports, each containing over 200 questions from 2019-2024, to identify the frequency of specific maintenance tasks for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Maintenance tasks were categorized as routine, corrective, or urgent, revealing recurring issues across BMP types, including basins, conveyance, infiltration, filtration, tree boxes, underground, and miscellaneous systems. Approximately 70 percent of the inspection reports were for basin BMPs, which account for 67 percent of VDOT's 2,481 BMPs. As an example, clustering techniques distilled 12,696 basin inspection reports into 1,161 unique reports, revealing common combinations of maintenance issues. Similar analyses were performed for each BMP type. Work order data was linked to inspection reports to evaluate the costs of specific maintenance tasks and identify the costs of common combinations of maintenance issues found in each unique inspection report. A 16-question survey conducted among district infrastructure and BMP managers further explored how BMP operation, maintenance, and management are navigated. The survey provided a practitioner view of institutional, financial, and operational trade-offs. Survey responses highlighted that most routine maintenance benefits from economies of scale through large mowing contracts, while major corrective actions often require special funding or are deferred due to budget constraints. This comprehensive approach—combining frequency analysis, cost evaluation, and practitioner insights—provides recommendations for reducing long-term costs for other agencies more broadly.
