ThisWeek CW 12/22/2011
Canal Winchester is leading other communities when it comes to its stormwater management plan, according to the Columbus-based engineering firm EMH&T.
Rian Sallee, an engineer with EMH&T, which has a contract with Canal Winchester, said the city has a comprehensive public education program and has done a good job mapping stormwater runoff.
“This city has one of the most robust public education programs in the area,” Sallee said. “Many communities haven’t done the mapping of their stormwater systems, so Canal Winchester is way ahead with that.”
City council members approved an annual update to the city’s stormwater management plan at its Dec. 19 meeting after the service committee reviewed it at a meeting earlier in the evening.
Sallee presented an overview of the current stormwater plan, which has been in place since 2009 but has to be updated each year.
“The major new requirements include full stormwater system mapping, home sewage planning, updates to the stormwater management ordinance, development of a stormwater pollution prevention plan for municipal services and increased pollution tracking,” Sallee said. “The purpose of this plan is to reduce or eliminate pollutants in the system through the implementation of best practices.”
In 2003, the then-village implemented its first version of the stormwater plan, based on requirements of the Clean Water Act, under the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II program.
According to Sallee, in 2009, a new plan was required in order for the community to continue to receive the necessary Ohio EPA permits to continue to send stormwater into the Walnut Creek watershed.
“The plan is based on six minimum control measures: public education, public involvement, stopping illicit discharge, managing construction runoff, managing post-construction runoff and maintaining runoff from municipal facilities,” Sallee said.
This year, Canal Winchester installed new pumps at the water plant, which helped move the stormwater through the system, according to city water reclamation manager Steve Smith.
“This is the largest rainfall year we’ve had,” Smith said. “We are 20 inches above normal for the year, so we’re very happy with this acid test of our new pumps. The water plant average is up about 250,000 gallons a day over normal years.”
Communities that do not meet the minimum requirements are subject to fines from the Ohio EPA, according to Sallee.
“It’s meetings like this that help address public involvement,” city engineer Steve Farst said. “And the mapping is a resource that will be beneficial above and beyond this permitting. Knowing our system is very valuable.”