Leveraging Biochar for Mainstream Stormwater Management

Date: October 23, 2025 | 2:30 PM EST/1:30 PM CST
Presenters: Carol Wong, CWP Senior Water Resource Engineer; Adrienne Cizek, CWP Senior Water Resource Engineer; Alexandria Wilkins, CWP Watershed Planner
Credits: 1.0 PDH | 0.1 CEU | Approved for all Envirocert International, Inc. (ECI) Certifications: Approval #PDH-0201
Cost: Free

The Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) is working to accelerate the use of biochar as an innovative tool for improving stormwater management in the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

This presentation will highlight CWP’s role in the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funded project, Scaling Up Biochar in the Chesapeake Bay. Completed in Spring 2025, the project advanced research and partnerships and supported pilot projects demonstrating biochar’s effectiveness in reducing runoff and pollutants. In collaboration with the U.S. Biochar Initiative (USBI), CWP is also developing a practical stormwater biochar guidebook to help practitioners, municipalities, and decision-makers understand best practices for biochar use in stormwater best management practices. This guidance is expected to be completed by November 2025. Attendees will learn about the benefits of biochar in stormwater and gain insights into the opportunities, challenges, and future directions for integrating biochar into mainstream stormwater management.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role of biochar in improving stormwater management practices, including its potential to reduce runoff volume and pollutant loads.
• Summarize the key outcomes of the “Scaling Up Biochar in the Chesapeake Bay” project, including research findings, pilot projects, and collaborative partnerships.
• Identify best practices for incorporating biochar into stormwater best management practices (BMPs), as outlined in the forthcoming stormwater biochar guidebook.
• Discuss the benefits and limitations of using biochar in various stormwater applications, with consideration for site conditions, material properties, and performance monitoring.
• Evaluate the future directions and implementation challenges for mainstreaming biochar in stormwater programs, especially within municipal and regulatory contexts.

About the Presenters

Carol Wong, P.E. is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at the Center for Watershed Protection. She joined CWP in 2014 and has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to joining CWP, Carol worked for the private sector as a consultant, managing environmental research and development projects. Carol is experienced in program management, stormwater research, BMP design and permitting, construction inspection, training, and water quality monitoring.

Adrienne Cizek is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at the Center for Watershed Protection. She recently joined CWP in early 2025 after a decade as a project engineer and manager in the private sector.  Adrienne earned her doctorate in stormwater engineering from North Carolina State University in 2014 and has been a professional engineer since 2018. Adrienne is experienced in green stormwater infrastructure design, permitting, construction management, and inspection, as well as hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality modeling.

Alexandria Wilkins, MESM, is a Watershed Planner at CWP with a background and education in environmental science, water resource management, and environmental stewardship and education. She provides interdisciplinary support to CWP’s clients that includes watershed planning, MS4 compliance, QAPP development and review, GIS and research data analysis, project management, and stakeholder engagement and facilitation.

Produced in Partnership with The Center For Watershed Protection