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July 31, 2010 - 03:53PM
Stormwater Management

What is stormwater?

Stormwater is pure rainwater plus anything the rain carries along with it. In urban areas, rain that falls on the roof of your house, or collects on paved areas like driveways, roads and footpaths is carried away through a system of pipes that is separate from the sewage system. Unlike sewage, stormwater is not treated. In some cases it's filtered through traps, usually located at the end of the pipe system, but it still flows directly from streets and gutters into our waterways like Hurricane Creek. Common pollutants include litter (cigarette butts, cans, paper or plastic bags), chemical pollution (detergents, oil or fertilizers) and 'natural' pollution (leaves, garden clippings or animal droppings). Eventually, the majority of our stormwater ends up in Percy Priest Lake, which is our source for drinking water.


What are federal standards in regard to stormwater?

The City of La Vergne was one of more than 85 communities within the State of Tennessee that was required to submit a Notice of Intent application to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for coverage under the Tennessee Phase II MS4 general stormwater permit, as moderated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water Act.

This program required that the City of La Vergne develop a stormwater program which addresses water quality issues.


What is the City of La Vergne doing in regard to stormwater?

Phase II is designed to look at nonpoint pollution from all sources. Nonpoint pollution is water that cannot be traced to source, such as rooftops, paved roads and parking lots.

Phase II requires that the City of La Vergne meet the following six minimum controls:

  • public education and outreach
  • public involvement/Participation
  • illicit discharge detection
  • construction site stormwater runoff control
  • post-construction stormwater management in new development and re-development
  • pollution prevention/good housekeeping for community operations

Funding

After a study of the overall stormwater system needs in our city and factoring costs to implement new federal standards, the City of La Vergne agreed that some type of funding mechanism needed to be established.

A stormwater management fee was adopted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on June 7, 2005 and appears on the monthly water bill residents and businesses receive from the City. Only residents and businesses in the City of La Vergne will be required to pay the fee as the money is to be used on projects within the city's limits.

The revenue will be used exclusively for stormwater management projects. Given the number of areas that need attention it is expected to take several years to complete the work. Routine stormwater maintenance is needed as well.

  • Stormwater Management Fee: link
  • Credit and Adjustment Policy: link


How you can help.

Avoid typical activities that can cause stormwater pollution such as:
  • car washing on the street: using detergent and allowing it to run down the street drain
  • fixing your car on the street: letting oil or other substances flow into the street drain
  • disposing of garden waste: letting leaves or garden clippings accumulate in gutters or driveways where they can end up in the street drain
  • dropping litter: dropping litter where it will be swept into the street drains next time it rains
  • cleaning paint brushes: letting the contaminated water flow into the street drain
  • hosing sidewalks and patios: letting the water carry dirt, soil or other waste into the street drains
  • not picking up dog droppings: the left behind dog droppings will be carried into the stormwater system next time it rains. (Imagine the cumulative effect this would have on the city waterways if you account for all the dogs in your neighborhood.)

Attend Storm Water Public Meetings
  • Storm Water Appeals and Advisory Board meets once a year unless otherwise needed.

Links

More information about stormwater can be found at the following sites.

  • Frequently Asked Questions: link
  • TDEC MS4 Page: link
  • EPA Stormwater Information kids page: link
  • MTSU - Center for Environmental Education: link
  • Construction BMP Manual: link
  • Post-Construction BMP Manual: link
  • NPDES General Permit for Discharges: link
  • Stormwater Management: link
  • Stream Buffer Ordinance: link
  • Stormwater Appeals and Advisory Board: link
The URL for this page is:
http://www.lavergne.org/services/stormwater/index.shtml
This page was printed from the website of The City of La Vergne, TN.
http://www.lavergne.org
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The City of La Vergne does not discriminate based on race, color or national origin in federal or state sponsored programs, pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d). If you receive a Title VI complaint, please contact the Title VI coordinator Fred Gaston at 287-8622.
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