Stormwater
What is Stormwater?
In Pennsylvania, we get an average of 41 inches of precipitation each year. When it rains or the snow melts, where does this water go?
In more natural areas, water is quickly able to infiltrate into the ground. A forested area allows for about 18 inches per hour of infiltration, where an average lawn allows for about 2 inches per hour. Impervious surfaces like pavement and rooftops, offer no infiltration at all. All of the water that doesn't infiltrate flows over the ground, over roofs and through gutters on buildings, into storm drains, and into the nearest waterway - our lakes, rivers, and streams. This is stormwater.
It's important to be aware of stormwater, where it comes from, and where it goes because it impacts water quality in your local watershed. Flooding, pollutants, erosion, and property damage can all result from uncontrolled stormwater runoff.
There are local ordinances and regulations for the control of stormwater runoff in your municipality. These ordinances determine the best ways to manage stormwater for the benefit of local residents and businesses, as well as for the overall health of the watershed. Homeowners, businesses and industries can all work together with municipalities to help manage stormwater and its potential impacts. Understanding stormwater is the first step to making good choices and being a good neighbor in your watershed.
Who oversees Stormwater in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") is responsible for managing stormwater in Pennsylvania. The DEP administers State stormwater regulations and the Federal Clean Water Act.
How does the DEP manage stormwater?
- Manages State, County and Municipal stormwater permits;
- Manages Permits for Discharges Associated with Construction Activities;
- Manages the Pennsylvania Storm Water Management Act; and
- Works with counties, towns, and other municipalities to help them follow regulations.
What does the Stormwater Management Act require?
- Requires counties to create watershed-level stormwater management plans; and
- Requires individual municipalities to adopt ordinances to implement the plans.
What is an MS4?
MS4 is short for, "Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System", where the word "Municipal" refers to a unit of local government like a borough or a township, but may also refer to an organization responsible for the administration of a developed area. And the number 4 refers to the four words that start with the letter "S"; "Separate," "Storm," "Sewer," "System."
A separate storm sewer system is a collection of structures, including retention basins, ditches, roadside inlets and underground pipes, designed to gather stormwater from built-up areas and discharge it, without treatment, into local streams and rivers. It's called a separate system because it's not connected to the sanitary sewer system which drains waste water from inside a home to a sewage treatment facility or a private septic system. Some communities in Pennsylvania do have combined storm and sanitary sewers. The areas served by these "combined systems" are not covered by the MS4 program.
Many rural developments have stormwater management structures, but only communities that the United States Census Bureau classifies as "Urbanized Areas," or UAs, based on population density, are required to become part of the MS4 program. UAs contain plenty of commercial and residential development which produces large amounts of stormwater runoff. Large institutions, like college campuses and hospital complexes, are also part of the MS4 program because they also contain the type of dense development that produces concentrated stormwater flows. The program is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or DEP, which fulfills this role to comply with federal mandates under the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has an oversight role because they are the federal agency charged with implementing the Clean Water Act.
The authorization that MS4 communities get from the DEP to legally discharge stormwater into local stream and rivers is called an "NPDES" permit which stands for National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. The word "National" references the connection with the Federal Clean Water Act, and the word "Discharge" refers to the fact that separate storm sewer systems eventually release stormwater into local creeks, rivers, and lakes, untreated. These particular NPDES permits are also commonly called, "MS4 Permits" or "Stormwater Permits." To meet the terms of their NPDES Permit, communities need to develop what's called a "Stormwater Management Program" ("SWMP"). Communities that discharge stormwater into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, or into any other waterway that the DEP identifies as "impaired," are also required to develop a "Pollutant Reduction Plan" (PRP).
Because every MS4 faces unique stormwater challenges each management plan is unique. But every SWMP includes the same six focus areas that the Environmental Protection Agency considers essential for success, called Minimum Control Measures or ("MCMs"). MCM's are as follows:
- Public Education and Outreach
Because stormwater originates from all corners of a community, including the neighborhoods where people live and work, increasing public stormwater awareness is considered very important. To achieve this goal, municipalities develop community-wide education plans designed to inform residents about what stormwater is, why it requires management, and things they can do to make a difference. Common activities include creating web pages, informational flyers, and brochures and providing presentations at schools and community events.
- Construction Site Erosion Control
Poorly managed construction sites can be a major source of polluted stormwater so MS4's are required to reduce this risk. Activities include procedures to make sure erosion and sediment control practices are installed correctly and maintained as long as needed.
- Public Participation and Involvement
Involving the public in stormwater related activities; including taking actions that improve stormwater at home, work and in the community, is the goal of this MCM. Common activities include public events like tours and workshops focused on best management practices, and seeking public input on stormwater related planning and rule writing when preparing a new, stormwater related ordinance.
- Post Construction Stormwater Management
The goal is making sure new buildings, parking lots and other developments don't create future stormwater headaches. Activities include adopting procedures to ensure structural stormwater management practices are installed and maintained properly after construction, and encouraging developers and builders to install low impact development practices or LID. LID examples include setting aside sensitive lands, like woods and stream buffers, so they can act as stormwater infiltration areas and implementing source control practices, like a street-sweeping program, to capture stormwater pollutants before they get washed away.
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
This MCM involves keeping pollutants out of the separate storm sewer systems. This happens when things other than stormwater get dumped into a storm sewer inlet, and also when storm sewers and sanitary sewers are illegally cross-connected. Examples of illicit substances include septic tank drainage, laundry wash water, paint, automobile oil, grease from restaurant grease traps, and sanitary waste among other things.
- Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping
This MCM requires reducing stormwater pollution from the maintenance yards, streets, parking lots, buildings and other facilities owned by the municipality or MS4 permit holder. It also includes upkeep of the separate storm sewer system itself.
If you have additional questions, comments or concerns about stormwater in Freemansburg Borough please do not hesitate to contact us.
Please reference the links below to the sources that were used to address some of the Borough's MCM's.
References
