STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The water that flows into our streets and storm drains from rainstorms, garden hoses, sprinklers or other water sources is called STORMWATER. This water NEVER goes to a wastewater treatment plant to be cleaned. It flows directly into our local waterways, carrying with it pollutants from yards, streets, driveways and other impermeable surfaces.
WHEN IT RAINS IT DRAINS
Storm Water Management Program
Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the quality of our Nation's waters has improved dramatically. Despite this progress, degraded water bodies still exist. Polluted storm water runoff from storm events is often transported to municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) and ultimately discharged into local rivers and streams without treatment. Common pollutants include oil and grease from roadways, pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, sediment from construction sites, and carelessly discarded trash. When these pollutants are deposited into nearby waterways through MS4 discharges, they can impair the water quality, thereby discouraging recreational use, increasing drinking water purification costs, and degrading habitat for wildlife, fish and other aquatic organisms.
In 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated rules establishing Phase I of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Storm Water Program. The Phase I program requires operators of medium and large MS4s, entities that generally serve populations of 100,000 or more, to implement a Storm Water Management Program (SWMP) as a means to control polluted discharges from these MS4s. In November 1999, EPA issued the Phase II rule that automatically covers, on a nationwide basis, all small MS4s located in 'urbanized areas' as defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Based on the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau map, a large portion of the City of Mansfield is located within an urbanized area. The City is required to prepare a SWMP in an effort to reduce pollution in storm water to the maximum extent practicable and to effectively prohibit illicit discharges to the system in accordance with the Clean Water Act and the TCEQ Phase II program. The SWMP will address six minimum control measures as required by State regulations. The minimum control measures, when implemented in concert, are expected to result in significant reductions of pollutants discharged into receiving water bodies.
The six MS4 program minimum control measures are:
- Public Education and Outreach
- Public Participation / Involvement
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
- Construction Site Runoff Control
- Post-Construction Runoff Control
- Pollution Prevention / Good Housekeeping
The City is currently preparing a draft SWMP. The final SWMP must be submitted with a Notice of Intent requesting coverage under the Texas Pollution Discharge Elimination System General Permit within 90 days after the permit is issued by TCEQ. It is anticipated that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will be finalizing rules for Texas small MS4s based on these federal regulations in the near future.
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