SCM, BMP, Forebay: What Your Inspection Report Is Actually Saying

We get asked this a lot, so here’s the short version.

BMP and SCM mean the same thing. North Carolina started calling them SCMs (stormwater control measures) a few years ago, but plenty of older plans and reports still say BMP.

A forebay is one piece of the system. It’s the shallow area up front where sediment settles out before the water gets to the main pond.

If something in your report doesn’t make sense, ask us. That’s part of the job.

Other terms you’ll see: riser (the structure that controls how fast the pond drains), trash rack (the grate on the riser that keeps debris out), and bioretention (a planted area that filters runoff through soil). Different words, same goal: hold the water, clean it, let it out slowly.