Rivers’04 1 st International Conference on Managing Rivers in the 21 st Century: Issues & Challenges An Assessment of Stormwater Management Practices Using MSMA Manual in Malaysia LARIYAH MOHD SIDEK, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University Tenaga Nasional, KM 7, Jalan Kajang-Puchong, 43009 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia KAORU TAKARA, Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, 611-0011, Japan NOR AZAZI ZAKARIA, Director & Associate Professor, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kampus Kejuruteraan, Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia AMINUDDIN AB. GHANI, Deputy Director & Associate Professor, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kampus Kejuruteraan, Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia ROZI ABDULLAH, Lecturer, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kampus Kejuruteraan,, Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia ABSTRACT In response to the needs for paradigm shift the way the stormwater is managed, the Malaysian government has launched the new Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (DID, 2001) incorporating the latest development in stormwater management that is known as “control-at-source” approach. The source-control approach is a relatively new concept in stormwater management practices in Malaysia that refers to “Source Control Systems” indicating any processes which modifies the runoff from an area of land where that modification is close to the source of the flow. The new concept of Stormwater Management in Malaysia is focused on the integration of urban planning and utilization best management practices to achieve the objectives of sustainable drainage systems for urban areas. This new approach utilizes detention/retention, infiltration, conveyance, purification processes as well as delayed flow as suggested in the Manual. As a result, the quality and quantity of the runoff from developing area can be maintained to be the same as predevelopment conditions. This paper studies the current status of stormwater management practices in Malaysia and to develop an informational for Malaysian Government to update the existing Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia. The purpose of the project was to provide a comprehensive and assessments of MSMA guidance and its use in Malaysia, based on information provided by key stakeholder. The main findings of the study can be used to develop information, tools, and guidelines for developing effective local stormwater management programs; and to provide up-to-date technical information to engineers, planners, and developers for implementing practical and effective local best management practices and related policies and programs. In order to more effectively accomplish these goals, a survey was conducted of 3 major key stakeholder groups i.e. developers or contractors, consultants and local authorities to identify the prominent stormwater issues across Malaysia. The survey methodology, results, and conclusions drawn by the research findings are summarized in this paper. The result presented the findings from the first evaluation of MSMA guidance, which establishes the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of a wide range of practitioners and other experts. Keywords: Urban BMPs, Control-at-source, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, 479