Stormwater / Drainage
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency has required all cities and towns to maintain tighter control of the municipal storm drainage systems. The Town of Northborough has been working for the past 8 years on building and implementing a stormwater management program with no additional staff and little funding.
Stormwater runoff is generated when precipitation from rain and snowmelt events flows over land or impervious surfaces and does not percolate into the ground. As the runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces (paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops), it accumulates debris, chemicals, sediment or other pollutants that could adversely affect water quality if the runoff is discharged untreated. The primary method to control stormwater discharges is the use of best management practices (BMPs). In addition, most stormwater discharges are considered point sources and require coverage under an NPDES permit from DEP.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Program regulates stormwater discharges from three potential sources: municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), construction activities, and industrial activities. Most stormwater discharges are considered point sources, and operators of these sources may be required to receive an NPDES permit before they can discharge. This permitting mechanism is designed to prevent stormwater runoff from washing harmful pollutants into local surface waters such as streams, rivers, lakes or coastal waters.
The Town has developed a Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) under the requirements of the 2016 NPDES MS4 General Permit. The SWMP is available here and the Annual Reports are located below:
Resources
Other EPA Stormwater Websites
- Urban Polluted Runoff (Nonpoint Source Pollution) - Provides technical information on control of urban nonpoint source pollution.
- Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure - Summarizes common green infrastructure approaches and key resources for research, funding and partnerships.
- Low Impact Development (LID) - Provides resources on low impact development principles.
- Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Stormwater - Provides information on waters listed for impairments from stormwater sources.
- NPDES Compliance Monitoring Strategy - Outlines inspection and compliance goals for the entire NPDES program, including major and minor NPDES facilities, pretreatment programs, biosolids, CSOs, SSOs, stormwater, and CAFOs. This new strategy, which takes effect in 2009, places increased emphasis on wet weather issues, particularly stormwater sources, and sets ambitious targets for audits and inspections of Phase I and II MS4s, construction sites, and industrial facilities.
- Greening EPA, Stormwater Management - Summarizes strategies to reduce environmental impacts for EPA Headquarter's facilities and operations; and provides in-depth descriptions and examples of low impact development and sustainable stormwater management practices.