When was the Storm Water Management Academy founded, and how did it come about?
Dr. Martin P. Wanielista: It was founded at the University of Central Florida on Dec. 1, 2002, and I became its first director in January 2004. I have been working in the storm water field for 37 years, and it has been a love and interest of mine since before storm water was taken seriously as a pollutant and before it was viewed as a resource. For some time, there has been a need to conduct research on storm water as a reusable and potentially profitable resource, with a concurrent need to promote good engineering design to manage that storm water. These needs coincided with a series of Florida Department of Transportation initiatives along the same lines, and that in turn drove the development of the academy. SW2004: What types of courses and training are offered at the academy? Wanielista: We are dedicated to advancing the knowledge, training and protection of these waters, and we offer educational materials and research to advance the understanding and practice of good storm water
