Stormwater Management

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Stormwater Management Tips for Residents
Stormwater Task Force Report (2006)
Helpful Stormwater Links
Resolution 2004-8: Chapter 58, Grading, Erosion Control, Stormwater Management, and Best Management Practices

Stormwater is water runoff that accumulates in natural and/or constructed storage facilities and stormwater systems during and immediately following a storm event.

Whitemarsh Township Code Chapter 58 provides standards to safeguard persons, to protect property, water resources and to promote the public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, use, location and maintenance of grading, excavation, fill and site development of activities. The provisions of the Code are designed to:

Control stormwater runoff, erosion and sedimentation by use of accepted standards and facilities
Maintain or improve flows and water quality in all streams and watercourses within the Township
Focus on infiltration of stormwater, to maintain groundwater recharge, to prevent degradation of surface and groundwater quality and to otherwise protect water resources
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including regulations at 25 Pa Code Chapter 93.4a to protect and maintain "existing uses"
Manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by regulating activities that cause the problems
Provide review procedures and performance standards for stormwater planning and management
Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage systems as much as possible
Manage stormwater impacts close to the runoff source, which requires a minimum of structures and relies on natural processes
Prevent scour and erosion of streambanks and streambeds
Provide for proper operation and maintenance of all permanent stormwater management Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are implemented in the Township
Provide a mechanism to identify controls necessary to meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES)Permit requirments
Implement an illegal discharge detection and elimination program to address non-stormwater discharges into the Township's storm sewer system

A copy of the resolution adopting the standards for stormwater management can be found here: Resolution 2004-8 - Ordinance Number 789

Stormwater Management Tips for Residents

Homeowners can do their own part in taking steps to improve the health of the creeks to reduce the amount and slow the speed of water runoff by allowing it to seep underground by providing more porous and unpaved surfaces in your yard to soak up stormwater and striving to keep chemicals and soil runoff from tainting the creek.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESIDENTS:

Trees and Plants - A mature tree's network of leaves slows rainfall during a storm, reducing the speed that raindrops hit the ground and slowing the erosion of soil into the stream. Plants and trees absorb rain, and leaves drip rainfall onto the ground for hours after a storm, giving more water a chance to seep slowly underground. A tree's roots hold the soil, preventing soil from washing into the creek.

Rain Barrels - A rain barrel collects and stores rainwater from rooftops to use later for watering plants and gardens. Water collected in a rain barrel would normally pour off your roof directly or flow through roof gutter downspouts and become stormwater runoff.
Depending on your yard, this runoff can travel onto paved surfaces and eventually into a storm drain. Rain barrels conserve water and help lower costs (a rain barrel can save approximately 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months). Rain barrels reduce water pollution by reducing stormwater runoff, which can contain pollutants like sediment, oil, grease, bacteria and nutrients.
Rain barrels can also be arranged to slowly release the collected rainfall to areas that can soak up the water, reducing stormwater runoff and increasing groundwater recharge.

Porous Patios and Walkways - The large amount of impervious cover can be a significant contribution to excessive stormwater runoff. Consider reducting the amount of impervious surface on a property with driveways or parking areas built from porous asphalt or special concrete blocks containing holes to allow rainfall to trickle through. Or try a patio made from loose slate with gravel between the rocks.

Let it Grow - A close-cropped, well-manicured lawn may look attractive but allows stormwater to flow across it too quickly. Maintaining grass at a height of at least four inches slows the growth of weeds while better absorbing stormwater.

Rain Garden - A rain garden is a planted shallow depression designed to catch and filter rainfall runoff. The garden captures rain from a downspout or a driveway. The water sinks into the ground, aided by deep rooted plants that like wet and dry conditions. A residential rain garden should dry out between rains and should only hold water for 24 hours in order to prevent standing water that could create mosquito habitat.
Rain gardens have been proven to help slow down stormwater runoff and filter pollution, protect rivers and streams, and create a healthy habitat for birds and butterflies.

MORE ON STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: A comprehensive list of stormwater management practices compiled by the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association.

Stormwater Task Force Report (2006)

On January 20, 2005 the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution # 2005-4 creating the Whitemarsh Township Stormwater Management Improvement Task Force as an ad hoc committee with membership consisting of resident representatives from severely affected neighborhoods throughout the township as well as township staff personnel.

The thirteen-month accumulation of the studies performed by the Task Force may be found in the attached Report presented to the Board of Supervisors on March 9, 2006.