New video on Creating a Rain Garden below:
Act 167 - Stormwater Management
Important Stormwater Contact
Information
Helpful
Stormwater Information
What is stormwater? Stormwater is precipitation from the
sky, either rain, hail or snow,
that falls onto the land. Some of the water seeps into the
aquifer by penetrating the
ground. More often, storm water floods creeks and makes
it’s way to the lowest level, the
Delaware River Basin. For additional information, check the
following links:
www.crcwatersheds.org
– Website for the Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds
Association
www.dep.state.pa.us
– DEP Home page
www.epa.gov/nps/toolbox
–
EPA Nonpoint Source Toolbox
www.epa.gov/npdes
–
EPA NPDES site
www.delcocd.org
– Delaware County Conservation District
http://dsf.chesco.org/water
–
Chester County Water Resource Authority
http://dsf.chesco.org/conservation
–
Chester County Conservation District
Edgmont
Township has continued to partner with the
Chester-Ridley-Crum Watershed Association in order to
provide extensive information to residents about proper
stormwater management practices. Below are some
helpful guides for stormwater management:
Green Guide for Property Managers -
This guide may assist managers of large properties
identify green initiatives to reduce the pollution in
stormwater run-off.
Greener than Grass - This information
sheet outlines the benefits of meadow conditions on
properties.
Monthly Stormwater Planner for
Residents –
This guide provides a seasonal and monthly guide to
managing stormwater
Maintaining Your Basin
–
This is a helpful guide for residents with on-lot
stormwater basins
CRC Rain Gardens Brochure
–
CRC has prepared this helpful guide for creating and
maintaining a rain garden on your property
Improving Stormwater Basins
Naturally –
This guide corresponds to a presentation offered by CRC
last February. It offers a helpful guide to
naturalizing a stormwater basin.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/stormwater_management/10628 -
DEP stormwater page
http://www.cwp.org/ -
Center for Watershed Protection
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/munic.cfm -
EPA's guide to Stormwater Discharges from
MS4s
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwatermonth.cfm -
EPA's guide to Stormwater Public
Education
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/index.cfm?action=browse&Rbutton=detail&bmp=14 -
EPA's guide to Pollution Prevention for
Businesses
http://www.delawareestuary.org/pdf/HomeownersGuideSWMgmnt.pdf -
A Homeowners Guide to Stormwater
Management
http://www.delawareestuary.org/ -
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
http://www.askemap.org/ -
Pennsylvania's Environmental Management Assistance Program
www3.villanova.edu/vusp - Villanova
Urban Stormwater Partnership
http://water.epa.gov/action/weatherchannel/index.cfm
- "After the Storm"
www.greenworks.tv/waterquality/stormy.htm
- "Stormy Weather"
www.temple.edu/ambler/csc/t-vssi/BMPSurvey/project_profile.htm
- Temple-Villanova Sustainable Stormwater Initiative
Rain
Gardens
Rain Garden Brochure
Rain gardens are planted areas designed to soak up rain
water, which drains from a roof or other impervious
surfaces. They offer several benefits to communities
and residents.
Rain Gardens:
·
Increase the amount of stormwater that recharges
groundwater
·
Filter pollutants from stormwater that washes off roofs,
lawns, and paved areas
·
Provide attractive habitat for birds, butterflies, and many
beneficial insects
This information is presented courtesy of CRC Watershed
Association. A more through guide is available in the
CRC Rain Garden Brochure.
Rain has been around since the beginning of time, why all
of a sudden are we hearing about stormwater? Since 1978,
Pennsylvania has had laws in place to control stormwater,
as required by the Federal Government. (For decades, the
State has not intensely focused on issues, until the
devastation caused by the flooding from Hurricane Floyd in
September of 1999.) Property destruction, personal losses,
and litigation forced the state and federal governments to
step up efforts and work towards controlling the effects of
development as they may contribute to downstream flooding
conditions.
NPDES
PHASE II
The
acronym stands for National Pollution Discharge Elimination
Systems. This is a stormwater management program developed
by the state offices of the Department Of Environmental
Protection to address pollution and flooding. State laws
require municipalities to obtain state permits, and to
strictly regulate water quality and quantity from
construction sites, new development, illegal dumping to
storm sewer systems and to educate the public (residents
and business owners) on the importance of pollution
prevention.
What
does NPDES PHASE II have to do with me or my neighborhood?
If
you live in a neighborhood that has streets maintained by
the municipality, and there are storm sewers in those
streets and pipes that take the stormwater to a stream or
other body of water, you are responsible to keep your
basins clear of sediment and pollutants and to prevent
illegal dumping into storm sewers. If you are aware of a
neighbor who connects a hose from their washing machine or
sewage system directly into a storm sewer or drainage
basin, or stream, you should notify township officials
immediately. If you are aware of any malfunctioning septic
systems you should notify township officials immediately.
For an informative brochure entitled When It Rains, It
drains,
click here.
What watershed am I in?
There are three different watersheds in Edgmont
Township. Each is located in a different portion of
the Township. These watersheds and their locations
are:
·
Chester Creek Watershed: most of the western portion of the
Township
·
Ridley Creek Watershed: some of the western portion of the
Township and all of the central (primarily the area of
Ridley Creek State Park)
·
Crum Creek Watershed: the eastern portion of the Township
There are several other waterways which serve as
tributaries to these creeks. These tributaries are:
·
Rocky Run
·
Stackhouse Mill Run
·
Plumsock Run
·
Tagalong Run
·
Little Pony Trail Run
I own a house on two acres. Why should I care about
stormwater?
Stormwater effects everybody, we all live downhill from
somewhere. Everything we do on our little piece of the
earth will have some effect on somebody. If we don’t
control runoff from our own property, somewhere, somebody
down hill from us will feel it. Remember your parents
saying to you - “if everybody threw their trash out
the car window the whole road would be covered with
trash?” If we all neglect our responsibilities to
maintain our own property and control our own runoff, there
will continue to be devastating effects on those down hill
from us. You can be the solution to stormwater pollution!
* Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly
* Repair all auto and motor equipment leaks
* Clean up after your pet
* Wash cars on your lawn, not on your driveway
* Recycle
* Dispose of household hazardous waste such as batteries,
used oil, paint and certain cleaning solvents at designated
collection locations. For details regarding household
hazardous waste collections contact 610-892-9620 or
www.co.delaware.pa.us/recycle
This
doesn’t pertain to me. I don’t discharge any
stormwater from my property.
Do you live in a house with rain gutters? Do your rain
gutters take your roof water and dump it onto your driveway
or to a storm drain? Do you have a storm drain on or near
your driveway or property? Do you drain your swimming pool
every fall? Did you build a tennis court, expand your
driveway, enlarge your roof or add a garage? Unless you
have some sort of stormwater system on your property, you
are discharging water from your property into a stream
somewhere, making it somebody else’s problem. (For
details on how to properly drain your pool – see
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s) Here are a few
suggestions to make a difference:
Install a rain barrel (for information about rain barrels
contact Pennsylvania Resource Council in Edgmont Township
at 610-353-1555 or
www.prc.org)
and use the collected rainwater for watering flowers and
gardens.
Disconnect your rain gutters from discharging onto
driveways and redirect the water to grassy areas or
infiltration beds (dry wells).
Why
is my township now getting involved with stormwater?
Why doesn’t the State
take care of this?
The state is a big place and there are a lot
of watersheds in Pennsylvania. State agencies such as the
Department of Environmental Protection rely heavily on
local governments to do the lion’s share of
regulating when it comes to keeping the streams clean,
healthy and controlling flooding from unmanaged stormwater.
I run a business in Edgmont Township. How can I
help keep the streams clean?
If you operate a restaurant, keeping your
dumpster from leaking fluids into the ground is a start.
Sweeping your sidewalks rather than washing possible
pollutants into the ground will help.
For an informative brochure created specifically for food
establishments,
click here*
If you operate an automotive repair or gas station in
Edgmont,
click here
for
an information brochure created specifically for you*
My
neighborhood uses a professional lawn treatment company.
Should we worry about pollution?
When
you fertilize your lawn you’re not just fertilizing
the lawn. Rain washes the fertilizer along the curb, into
the storm drains and into the creeks and eventually into
the Rivers. This causes algae to grow which uses up oxygen
the fish need to survive.
Don’t fertilize before a rain storm and don’t
spray on sidewalks or driveways.
Use fertilizers sparingly.
Test your soil and consider organic/slow release products.
Leave grass clippings lay, they act as natural fertilizer
for your lawn.
Compost and introduce compost into the soil in trouble
spots.
Maintain a buffer strip of unmowed natural vegetation
bordering all waterways to trap fertilizers.
What
is the County doing to help?
The
Stormwater Management Act, Act 167 of 1978, provides for
the regulation of land and water use for flood control and
stormwater management. This law, among other things,
requires counties to prepare and adopt a watershed
stormwater plan for each designated watershed. Delaware
County has prepared a plan for the Chester Creek
Watershed. Edgmont Township has adopted the Chester
and Ridley Creek Watershed conservation plans. The
County is currently developing a conservation plan for the
Crum Creek Watershed.
I have an in ground septic system. Should I worry about
pollution?
Modern
septic systems are designed to function well for a period
of approximately 15 years if they are used and maintained
correctly. Your system is designed to work with the soils
on your property. The components of the soil filter the
gray water and remove pollutants. You should have your
system pumped as recommended by your maintenance company,
or no less than every two years. When you have your septic
tank pumped you should have the system checked over to be
sure it is in proper working order.
No strong chemicals or old medicine should ever be flushed
through the house plumbing into the septic systems. They
will kill beneficial bacteria that are necessary to break
down the waste in your system.
Certain paint, paint thinners, excessive amounts of bleach,
oils of any kind should all NOT be put into your system as
they can cause immediate failure and are a danger to the
aquifer.
Avoid using a garbage disposal.
Do not connect foundation sump pumps to your septic system.
Keep trees and shrubs at least 35 feet away from your tile
field to prevent root damage to pipes.
Route surface drainage (including snow melt) away from your
tile field.
For more sewage related reference materials available
contact your DEP Regional offices at 484-250-5900 or check
out the DEP Home Page at
www.dep.state.pa.us
Reference
materials available from DEP include:
DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 71- Administration of Sewage
Facilities Planning Program
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 72 – Administration of
Sewage Facilities Permitting Program
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 73 – Standards for Sewage
Disposal Facilities
DEPARTMENT FACT SHEETS
Understanding Septic Tanks
Sewage Planning Requirement (Exceptions)
Process for Resolving Complaints about Malfunctioning
Sewage Disposal Systems
Permitting & Planning Exemptions for Rural Residences
OTHER HELPFUL DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS
Consumer’s Guide to On-lot Sewage Disposal System
Operation and Maintenance
Sewage Disposal Needs Identification Guidance
Alternate and Experimental Systems Guidance
Individual Residential Spray Irrigation System Standards
