RSMP FAQ

The Regional Stormwater Management Program offers alternative means of compliance to onsite detention for new developments and redevelopments. Participating projects must meet minimum criteria to be eligible to participate, including causing no adverse flooding impact to neighboring properties because of impervious cover.

The RSMP Team collects funds to use on flood risk mitigation projects. Developers may also build stormwater infrastructure improvements that significantly benefit the public and reduce the risk of flooding.

No, RSMP reviews ensure any increased stormwater runoff from a property does not cause adverse flooding impact to neighboring properties. For larger sites, we require modeling and drainage analyses that prove no adverse flooding impact will affect the receiving creek or stormwater infrastructure.  

The RSMP Payments collected from participating projects and improvements completed by participants all help reduce the risk of flooding in the same watershed.

Use the RSMP Feasibility Viewer to determine a project’s potential feasibility for RSMP participation.  

Based on the information submitted, the Viewer will either prompt the user to schedule an RSMP Feasibility Meeting with the RSMP Team or direct the user to work with the project’s assigned drainage reviewer to provide onsite detention. 

If the RSMP Feasibility Viewer does not work for your project, submit a complete Feasibility Determination Request Form to the RSMP Team at RSMP@austintexas.gov. Based on the submitted information, the RSMP Team will be in touch to either schedule a Feasibility Meeting or suggest onsite detention for a project. 

After attending a Feasibility Meeting for a project, please submit a complete RSMP Application Package, including the RSMP Application Form and all the requested supporting documentation, to DSD Intake with your development application. See the RSMP Participation Handbook for more details.

Email the RSMP Team at RSMP@austintexas.gov to get in touch. We monitor the RSMP Inbox daily. We will schedule all meetings virtually using Microsoft Teams with a call-in option.

We provide review comments as quickly as possible during formal development application review. 

If the deadline for comments has passed and the RSMP review is either outstanding or not included in the comment report for the update, please contact the RSMP Team at RSMP@austintexas.gov to ensure the review is in process. 

Make sure to zip model files together in a folder that contains only models. After you submit the complete RSMP Application Package to DSD Intake (for site plans and subdivisions), you may also send it directly to the RSMP Team (RSMP@austintexas.gov) to ensure we receive it.

Use the RSMP Payment Calculator (downloadable Excel spreadsheet and instructions, 57 KB) to estimate the RSMP Payment amount for a project. The RSMP Team uses the same tool at the time of RSMP approval to determine the official RSMP Payment amount.  

The RSMP Team updates the Payment Calculator annually on September 30 to reflect an updated Engineering News-Record Construction Cost Index (ENR CCI).

Use this link to the Austin Build + Connect (AB+C) Portal. If you cannot see the RS folder assigned to your project, send a message to the RSMP Team at RSMP@austintexas.gov with the name, email address, and 7-digit Person ID of the individual(s) we should add to the RS folder. Be sure to include project-identifying information in the message so we can assign the correct person to the correct folder.

RSMP is an optional alternative to onsite detention. Applicants may opt at any time to pursue onsite detention.  

If you decide not to pursue RSMP participation at any time before approval, work with your assigned drainage reviewer to provide onsite detention.