Stormwater Management

Stormwater FAQs

  1. What is stormwater?
    1. Stormwater is runoff water from rain or melting snow that flows across the landscape. Runoff flows off of rooftops, paved areas, bare soil, and lawns. Runoff gathers in increasingly large amounts (from puddles, to ditches, to streams, to lakes and rivers) until it flows into the ocean.
  2. Why is it a concern?
    1. Impervious surfaces (paved streets, parking lots, building rooftops) do not let water infiltrate into the ground. Therefore, when it rains or snow melts, water that flows over these surfaces collects debris, chemicals, sediment, and/or other pollutants that are then discharged into our local waterways untreated.
    2. Unmanaged stormwater can threaten public health and aquatic life, negatively affect recreational activities, increase costs of water treatment, contribute to longer and more severe flooding events, and cause erosion of valuable land.
  3. Why is there a stormwater program?
    1. In 1987, amendments to the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) established a legal framework and requirements for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to develop a program for regulating municipal and industrial stormwater discharges under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The Federal NPDES Phase II Stormwater regulations were promulgated in 1999, and affect smaller communities with municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) serving populations of less than 100,000 people, as well as construction activities that disturb one or more acres of land.
    2. The City of Madison was given an unfunded mandate from IDEM and US EPA to manage and oversee stormwater runoff within the city limits. The city has held a municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) permit since 2008.
    3. The Clean Water Act and Indiana Administrative Code require communities of a certain size to have a stormwater program that implements six minimum control measures:
      1. Public education and outreach
      2. Public participation and involvement
      3. Illicit discharge detection and elimination
      4. Construction site stormwater runoff control
      5. Post-construction stormwater runoff control
      6. Municipal operations pollution prevention and housekeeping
      1. What do I do if I have a drainage problem?
        1. The city cannot perform maintenance work on private property however if the drainage issue is a result of public stormwater infrastructure such as pipes, curb inlets, grates, etc. property owners can report an issue at madison-in.gov/report.
      2. How can I help with stormwater runoff?
        1. Property owners should maintain through mowing or debris removal on any drainage easements, natural springs, or small streams which run through your property.
        2. Keep structures which could impede water flow out of natural drainage areas. This could include fencing, temporary structures, pools, decks, or even trees.
        3. Report an issue regarding clogged curb inlets, pipes, or grates in the city’s right of way at madison-in.gov/reporting.