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Quality Growth > Pages > Stormwater Management

Stormwater Management

Stormwater Management Tools

EPA Resources

US EPA Stormwater Program provides federal level resources for the stormwater management and control permit program. The website includes a Best Management Practices Menu, permitting requirements, and green infrastructure information.

US EPA Water Program is the federal office concerned with water quality issued for the nation. Its website is all encompassing providing links to variety of water related programs and resources.

Monitoring

Georgia Environmental Protection Division responsible for stormwater program , floodplain management and erosion and sediment control.

NPDES Stormwater Permitting - MS4

Stormwater discharge permitting is part of the national pollutant discharge elimination system permitting program administered by EPA through EPD . Stormwater permitting includes construction, commercial and industrial development, and municipalities currently with populations greater than 100,000. US EPA Non-Point Pollution Program addresses the pollutants picked up by stormwater run-off.

Georgia Storm Water Manual

The Georgia Stormwater Manual's development was lead by Atlanta Regional Commission and Georgia Environmental Protection Division. This three volume manual is designed to address stormwater management throughout the State. Volume One , Stormwater Policy Guidebook, provides guidance to local governments on stormwater management. Volume Two Technical Guidance Handbook provides techniques and measures for implementing stormwater management, and Volume Three Pollution Prevention Guidebook is a compendium of pollution prevention practices.

Coastal Storm Water Supplement (CSS)

The CSS is a supplement to the Georgia Stormwater Manual addressing stormwater management in the coastal plain environment of Georgia. Chapter Seven (7) of the CSS presents green infrastructure practices of site planning, and low impact development. Chapter Eight (8) presents’ stormwater management practices that can be applied based on a site's particular needs. Developed of the Coastal Stormwater Supplement is lead by the Chatham County - Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC). The MPC continues to maintain the latest information and edits to the Coastal Stormwater Supplement on their Natural Resources Stormwater Webpage . The CRC is leading an effort to have the CSS implemented by the local governments in the region, through a series of training workshops and as part of the Regional Plan's implementation program. Some of the training workshop presentations area available on the CRC's Environmental Planning Webpage .

Green Infrastructure

In the context of stormwater management, green infrastructure is the use of techniques and measures design to be "green". Green design features are natural features and natural processes that are interconnected to manage stormwater quality and quantity. Chapter 7 of the CSS provides guidance on applicable green infrastructure stormwater management techniques and measures. US EPA Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Webpage another resource on use of green infrastructure for stormwater management.

Low Impact Development Practices

Small scale practices designed to disconnect impervious and disturbed pervious areas from stormwater drainage systems and reduce post construction stormwater runoff rates, pollutant loading and volumes. Low impact design practices are recommended in the Coastal Georgia's Green Growth Guidelines and in chapter 7 of the CSS .

Green Growth Guidelines

The Green Growth Guidelines were developed by the Coastal Management Division, CRC and EMC Engineering. These guidelines provide an alternative approach to development, using site fingerprinting, designing with landforms, low impact development, and alternative stormwater and bank stabilization techniques to reduce the environmental impact of development.

Erosion and Sediment Control

Erosion and Sediment Control addresses a range of land disturbance activities and seeks to minimize potential impacts, protect Georgia’s waters from impacts of runoff and erosion from land disturbing activities - construction, agricultural, forestry. The EPD Technical Guidance Webpage for Water Protection provides a number of resources for erosion control.

Impervious Surface

The hard surfaces created through development that does not allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground. Growth and development increase the amount of impervious surfaces in our communities, there by increasing the amount of stormwater running off the land. This increase in stormwater runoff affects the quality through sediment and pollutants picked up from the impervious surface and quantity by increasing the flooding potential as water conveyance systems have to carry greater volumes of water. Green Growth Guidelines and the CSS present approaches to minimize the amount of impervious surface and to retain as much post development stormwater volume increase on site.

Funding

The Ga. EPD manages the US EPA 319 Grant Program , which may be used by governments to plan and manage their stormwater. This program provides funds to get a stormwater program or project designed and/or implemented. On going stormwater monitoring and maintenance will need to be funded locally.

One method is the establishment of a Stormwater Utility to operate like a water or wastewater utility, raising funds through fees and or taxes from within their service area to implement and maintain a stormwater management program. The Coastal Stormwater Utility Handbook provides step-by-step process for establishing a Stormwater Utility.

Impact fees are another tool that maybe used where a local government has an authorized impact fee program. Impact fees are charge during the development phase to provide funding for public investment in stormwater management facilities that will support the new development.

FEMA Flood Mitigation Programs:

Flood Mitigation Assistance program provides communities funds to reduce long term flood damage risk to structures insured through the NFIP.

Pre-disaster Mitigation Grant provides funds to communities, and universities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster event.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides grants to local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the HMGP is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.

Inspection and Maintenance

Inspection and maintenance programs important to maintaining stormwater control systems. Who provides and is responsible for maintenance is critical; the developer, homeowners association, or local government. Camden County requires systems to be turned over for control and maintenance.

Floodplain Management

The practice of managing activities in areas with certain chance of flooding, know as a floodplain, with the purpose to reduce risk and losses associated with flooding. A floodplain is the area of land along a water body that experiences periodic inundation by a flood Activates within a floodplain are at risk of being impacted by the quantity of stormwater flowing through or into a water body. Waters being moved through or around a water body, such as by winds and tides can also produce flooding. FEMA provides a number of Floodplain Management Resources .

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Federally back program providing flood insurance to property owners within participating communities. The NFIP program comes under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Participating communities are required to adopt a floodplain management ordinance with federally defined minimum standards. Participating communities may have more stringent requirements than the minimum standards. The Georgia Floodplain Management Office located in EPD has has produced the "Quick Guide to Floodplain Management in Georgia" and model Floodplain Management Ordinances for communities at risk from either Riverine and/or coastal flooding.

No Adverse Impact (NAI)

A floodplain management approach developed by the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) designed to provide tools for communities to provide a higher level of floodplain protection. The principle behind NAI is to ensure the actions of any community or property owner, public or private, does not adversely impact the property and rights of others. ASFPM has developed two documents "No Adverse Impact " and "Coastal No Adverse Impact Handbook " to assist local communities in identifying their flooding risk, public education and outreach, planning, regulation and development standards, mitigation, infrastructure, and emergency services. The Coastal NAI Handbook was developed with support from NOAA and FEMA.

Community Rating System (CRS)

The CRS program, under the national flood insurance program, encourages communities to take steps to reduce flood risk that goes beyond the required NFIP minimum standards. Participation is rewarded through the reduction of insurance rates from five (5) percent to 45 percent, based on the activities of a participating community.

Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)

NFIP participating communities are mapped to determine flood risk. Insurance is based on a developed property's relationship to a modeled Base Flood Elevation (BFE) (1% chance of flooding per year), commonly know as the 100-year floodplain. Properties that have a federally backed or insured mortgage and are at or below the BFE are required to purchase flood insurance. BFE's are also used to establish construction elevations for properties at or below the BFE. FIRMs are available through FEMA's Map Service Center .

Stormwater Management

Stormwater management is a growing concern for Coastal Georgia. There are two basic issues that affect this concern, the volume of stormwater running off the land and the quality of the stormwater as it leaves the land and enters the natural surface water and groundwater systems. As we have and continue to develop within Coastal Georgia, the volume of stormwater running off the land continues to increase as more impervious surfaces are added through development.

More runoff is increasing the potential for flooding properties downstream, including property and land that has no history of flooding. Stormwater runoff will pick up materials from sediment to bacteria, from leaves and grass cuttings to oils and chemicals. These materials picked up by stormwater runoff will impact the quality of the water as the runoff enters the surface water and groundwater systems.

"Infrastructure, including stormwater management, can be used as a tool to manage growth, protect our environment and influence our development patterns. A suite of strategies should be considered for stormwater management, both structural and non-structural. Our vision is that Coastal Georgia will have regional resources and adequate funding allocated to the institutions that will provide adequate infrastructure in advance of development."