Chesapeake Bay Executive Meeting, July 11, 2011, Maymont Nature Center
Stormwater Utility's First Year Report
Winter 2011
The Stormwater Utility of the city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities had a busy first year with each of the City
Council districts benefiting from a stormwater project. A few of the improvements that were completed:
- During the first year, the Stormwater Maintenance Team closed 1,065 citizen request tickets.
- The Stormwater Maintenance Team vacuumed 2,871 catch basins, cleaned 5.4 miles of storm sewers and maintained 28.2 miles
of drainage ditches. Clean catch basins prevent flooding and standing water.
- The team inspected 2,273 construction sites, tracked 124 projects, and issued 96 violations for Erosion and Sediment
Control.
Maintenance of catch basins and storm sewers prevents stormwater pollution runoff into the James River and Chesapeake Bay,
reduces mosquito infestation and provides a cleaner appearance to city neighborhoods.
Along with cleaning and drainage infrastructure maintenance, the utility encourages citizens to install Low Impact Design (LID)
components on their property. LID allows stormwater to be filtered or stored on site, instead of flowing untreated to the James
River or Chesapeake Bay.
Rain Garden
On-Site Storage
Permeable Pavement
Vegetated Filter Strips
Some examples of LID are:
- On-site stormwater storage
- Rain gardens
- Vegetated filter strips
- Permeable pavers
A catch basin full of debris is vacuumed by the Stormwater Maintenance Team. What a difference!
Science Museum of Virginia Steps Up
Spring 2010
When the Science Museum of Virginia received its first stormwater utility bill for $20,000, they weren’t surprised.
The museum, housed in Richmond’s former railroad depot, sits on 38 acres of which 14.5 acres are concrete and
buildings, including train sheds, the IMAX theater and planetarium.
Not only that, a block-long parking lot in front of the Children's Museum of Richmond next door actually
belongs to the Science Museum. The stormwater fee is based on the amount of impervious surface area a parcel contains.
The museum obtained a $700,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation last year to develop stormwater
mitigation components for the museum and acquired another $700,000 in matching funds from the Virginia Network for
Education of Municipal Officials, National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration Coastal Services and Chesapeake Bay Office,
the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay,
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Virginia Tech, the University of New Hampshire and the city of Richmond.
After all the low impact improvements are in place, the museum hopes to qualify for a 50 percent credit fee
reduction available to non-residential properties.
Bayscape landscaping was put in place last year. An area between the museum's driveway and the parking lot in
front of the Children's Museum was planted with native vegetation that can absorb stormwater runoff from the
semi-circular driveway in front of the museum. By September 2010, the museum plans to transform the roof of the
IMAX theater into a green roof with plants and vegetation around the dome to filter rain water and provide cooling insulation.
The asphalt under 44 parking spaces in the center of the lot in front of the Children's Museum will be replaced with
pervious pavers that absorb water like a sponge instead of directing it toward the street. Even this small area of pavers
can quickly absorb up to two acres of stormwater runoff.
Tree wells will be added to the landscaping around the main driveway.
Bioretention basins – rows of plants and vegetation – will serve as a buffer between the parking lot and the sidewalk
along W. Broad Street.
A cistern will collect rainwater from the train shed canopies and that water will be used to irrigate an urban
farming project behind the museum. The museum is also planning exhibits on rain barrels, how rainfall impacts the
James River, what chemicals and pesticides do to the water and fish population, the cooling benefits of green roofs,
and other related low impact development practices.
Follow the museum's progress at the
Science Museum of Virginia's website
and the
Science Museum of Virginia's blog.
Following the Stormwater Fees
Winter 2010
The stormwater fees you pay go toward three major components:
Consistent operations and maintenance
This includes the inspection, cleaning and clearing of catch basins, drainage ditches and detention ponds.
In the first six months since the stormwater utility was established in June 2009, the Department of Public Utilities'
Stormwater Operations and Maintenance Division responded to and closed more than 400 requests. This was in addition
to responding to a backlog of 350 requests.
Stormwater Master Plan
This plan is currently in development. The Master Plan takes an overall look at all of Richmond's watersheds
and provides a total engineering solution to address problem-areas where a quick fix is inadequate.
Regulatory compliance
The city must ensure that it meets very stringent state and federal stormwater regulatory requirements.
How Stormwater is Tied to Government Regulations
Winter 2010
Polluted stormwater runoff is the leading source of surface water pollution in the United States.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Conservation and Recreation have ordered
aggressive standards for pollution reduction in the James River.
By 2013 each locality must develop programs that identify and eliminate non-stormwater discharges into the
storm sewer system. These discharges may include illegal dumping of materials such as paint, leaves and debris,
oils and grease into storm sewers.
Richmond is also responsible for the enforcement of programs controlling waste and sediment and reducing
pollutants from construction sites - major contributors of urban stormwater pollution.
Each locality must bear the financial responsibility of these mandates since they do not come with state or federal funding.
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