Achieving stormwater compliance can be a tedious challenge, particularly for communities with less than 100,000 people. More stringent water quality requirements are forcing regulated communities to evaluate their asset management strategy. Regulatory agencies are pushing municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4’s) to be more proactive to respond to replacement or repair of aging infrastructure now rather than waiting for existing infrastructure to fail as the first step to response. This push can be burdensome, especially for utilities with limited revenue or reluctant city councils that represent residents unwilling to embrace steep increases to local taxes and fees. The development of TMDLs to address pollutant sources for impaired streams is now a reality and communities should not wait until after a TMDL is developed to implement their own watershed “rehabilitation” plan. Strategies for asset management should be based on a watershed approach taking into account risks and funding needs to identify future requirements for assets with the overall goal of water quality improvement. SMG is able to help with development of these strategies.
