I think stormwater runoff concerns are generally unserious. Any large and dense city should have a robust drainage system, and if it doesn't, the concerns over street flooding or sewer backflow a few times per year pale in comparison to the environmental damage inflicted by sprawl. Especially auto-centric sprawl, which covers more area with impervious surfaces (roads) than simply building dense housing. There's a reason that everyone in Houston has a yard, but storm runoff is still a problem.
There are typically separate codes for stormwater that stipulate maximum flows which can come off a property under certain assumptions about storms that would likely still be maintained. Moving toward this denser housing would be a net positive for a larger area since it would decrease the amount of parking and roads that are necessary for a population although it could slightly increase flooding within developments without adequate planning.
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I think stormwater runoff concerns are generally unserious. Any large and dense city should have a robust drainage system, and if it doesn't, the concerns over street flooding or sewer backflow a few times per year pale in comparison to the environmental damage inflicted by sprawl. Especially auto-centric sprawl, which covers more area with impervious surfaces (roads) than simply building dense housing. There's a reason that everyone in Houston has a yard, but storm runoff is still a problem.
There are typically separate codes for stormwater that stipulate maximum flows which can come off a property under certain assumptions about storms that would likely still be maintained. Moving toward this denser housing would be a net positive for a larger area since it would decrease the amount of parking and roads that are necessary for a population although it could slightly increase flooding within developments without adequate planning.