STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FUNDING

Article 10 on the warrant for the 2012 Annual Town Meeting again requests funding for a stormwater management program.  The purpose of this article is to comply with the required elements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Last year, Town Meeting approved borrowing $400,000 for this program, but it was defeated at Town Election. Since then, we have taken steps to significantly reduce this amount by limiting its provisions to the minimum area of Town (the “urbanized area”) required by federal law. The requested amount now is $160,000.

Also, we have done a significant amount of the required mapping of the drainage systems within the urbanized area in-house. We also plan to continue the in-house mapping and supplement it with the purchase of a GPS unit to allow us to map the drainage system in areas where we do not possess paper maps as well as to help improve the accuracy of the maps. And finally, the Assessor’s Office was able to use a different state program to update the Assessor’s Maps (which was originally part of this program) at no cost to the Town.

The funding will be used for a number of projects. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

•    Mapping -- The existing Town-owned stormwater management system (i.e. catch basins, manholes, culverts, detention basins, leaching galleys, etc.) will be mapped in Geographic Information System format.

•    Inspections -- All elements of the Town system will be inspected to determine its condition and to identify possible illicit discharges.

•    Sampling -- The water discharged from all outfalls will be sampled in both dry and wet conditions. This will help determine where additional treatment or system upgrades are necessary.

•    Pollution Prevention -- A stormwater pollution prevention plan will be prepared for all regulated Town facilities including the Police and Fire Stations, CMD Garage, Town Hall, and Library.

•    Operation and Maintenance -- An operation and maintenance plan for the stormwater system will be developed.

•    Phosphorus Management -- Phosphorus has become a pollutant of increasing concern because it encourages excessive plant growth and results in an imbalance in surface water ecosystems. A plan to address phosphorus discharges will be prepared.

•    Identify Grants -- Grants may be available to help offset the costs of the program and/or to fund improvements to the stormwater management system. Such grants will be identified as part of the program.

·       Public Information – At a minimum, at least two brochures or flyers per year for five years must be prepared and distributed to the public explaining various aspects of the stormwater management program, including what individuals can do to minimize its impacts.

It should be noted that the contracted amount is a maximum and that charges will be billed on a time and materials basis. We will continue to do as much as possible in-house in order to keep these costs to a minimum.

Protection of both surface and groundwater resources is critical to the future of Sherborn, and has therefore always been a high priority. Last year, Town Meeting approved a new stormwater management bylaw. This program is the next step in our ongoing effort to protect these resources.