2NDNATURE

2NDNATURE is a Santa Cruz, California software developer that applies environmental science and geospatial information technology to urban stormwater management. Its flagship product, 2NFORM, is a GIS-based system used by municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permittees to automate National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) compliance reporting, map and maintain stormwater assets, and run program modules covering municipal maintenance, industrial/commercial and construction inspections, post-construction programs, illicit discharge, public education and outreach, structural BMP diagnostics, trash compliance, project delivery and scenario planning. A second product, Rainsteward, targets corporate water stewardship, aiming to quantify and increase the value of stormwater investments.

The company positions its tools around measurable outcomes — reduced flooding, reduced pollutant and trash loads, and increased infiltration through green stormwater infrastructure — and publishes case studies with customers including the City of Salinas, the City of Oceanside, Monterey, Watsonville, Berkeley County (West Virginia), Chattanooga and Wake Forest. Supporting content includes blogs, webinars, publications and an interactive resource library. Its stated mission areas are clean water, climate resilience, greener cities and environmental justice.

The company's technology footprint reported by data providers includes ArcGIS, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, PostgreSQL, WordPress and HubSpot. It is classified under NAICS 5112 (software publishers) and the software development industry.

Founding story

Founder and chief executive Nicole Beck traces her interest in natural science to her upbringing and earned a PhD in aquatic chemistry from UC Santa Cruz, focusing on the applied side of chemistry and on how land management affects water quality and quantity. Work in the Lake Tahoe basin produced two formative findings: that the main pollutant impairing lake clarity was fine inorganic sediment from roadways rather than algae, and that every city and county in the country faces a Clean Water Act compliance obligation, creating both a regulatory driver and a payer for stormwater programs. That combination shaped the company's focus on capturing rainfall as a resource before it becomes polluted runoff.

Business model

2NDNATURE sells software-as-a-service subscriptions to municipalities and corporations, centered on two products: 2NFORM for MS4/NPDES permit compliance and Rainsteward for corporate water stewardship. Customers log in to cloud-hosted, GIS-based applications for asset tracking, field data collection, analytics and regulatory reporting, supported by the company's applied-science expertise.

Recurring subscription revenue from SaaS licences to municipal and corporate customers for the 2NFORM and Rainsteward platforms.

Traction

Customers cited include the City of Salinas (first client, from 2017), Oceanside, Monterey, Watsonville, Berkeley County (WV), Chattanooga and Wake Forest. Watsonville used 2NFORM analytics in meeting California's Trash Amendments and mapping structural assets, and secured $1.8 million in grants. Wake Forest is reported to have recovered 930 hours in its post-construction program. Headcount was about 15 in late 2019; third-party directories list the company in the 11-50 and 21-50 employee ranges.

Latest developments

In February 2024, 2NDNATURE and the Pacific Institute released a national assessment finding substantial opportunities for expanded stormwater capture and use to improve urban water resilience in the United States. The company has continued to publish customer case studies, including Chattanooga consolidating five stormwater programs into one and Wake Forest reporting 930 hours saved in its post-construction program, and has described a patented method for prioritizing where stormwater spending should go.