01-26-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF ORONO SWPPP The land use in the City of Orono is almost exclusively residential ,or paric and open space, with only 2% of the land area being commercial, industrial, or multi family development uses. Because of the significantly higher stormwater runoff and pollutant loading from conunercial and industrial land uses, Orono’s limited amount of these land uses results in reduced stormwater pollutant loadings for the regions lakes and wetlands. The City of Orono has a very limited pipe system for stormwater conveyance as we have very few streets with concrete curb and gutter. Almost all of our streets are a rural section wd most of the stormwater conveyance, in the City, is by overland drainage. The topography is relatively flat with numerous wetlands and depression areas throughout the city. ThisTack of a piped'storm sewer drainage system combined with the relatively flat topography results in reduced times of concentraUons for the stormwater flow, and also the large rural density lots, provide opportpiiities for natural treatment of the stormwater flow before it reaches the lakes in tte city. The ne^r developments in the city also have stormwater treatment ponds. * ‘ v; •• The City of Orono has also had an ordinance to the limit the percentage of ii)^perVi6us surfaces on lots within 1,000 feet of the city’s lakes in order to the reduce the amount of storrhwdter and pollutant loading to Lake Miiuietonka. This hardcover ordnance is structured l^y zones so as limit the hardcover in areas closer to the lake, for example no imi^m<bus surfaces lire ^loxved within 75 of the lakeshore. Orono has also had a compj^^^ve septic system man^^efii program inj^acii^^i^Hi full time septic systems manager for the 1 5 yealfs. The city’sfse^c program includes ^r^i^tions of inplace septic systems on a routirie ^is^ b erisure properpom^On and prevent illicifBi^hWges. The city has also has been providing saniU^ to* existing higher den^i^ rieighborhoods that were developed prior to the implementation of the 2 acre zoning. Over 90% of the Lake M^etordca shoreline has ^n sewered plus almost all of the non-lakeshore higher density neighborhoods. Self-Assessment^escriptiQn • 4 ’Before beginning to*aelect BMPs and Mea^urible Goals, city staff undertook a self-assessment of our city’s stormwater system. This yyas an Evaluation of our city’s conditions, needs, and practices. The objective of this process wu. to provide a knowledge base upon which to structure our SWPPP in order to meet the Permit’s Maximum Extent Practicable standard. ‘ ff 5* The self-assessment was guided by materials included in the League of Minnesota Cities NPDES Phase II MS4 Guide Plan. This self-assessment process had two major components: • The first workshop session organized as part of the LMC Guide Plan project included a self-assessment component led by Pat Collins of AMEC Earth & Environmental. This included: o discussion of physical and socio-political watershed and organizational conditions and issues that should guide the selection of BMPs and Measurable Goals o review of two examples of cities with different characteristics to demonstrate how local conditions should shape the selection of BMPs and Measurable Goals o a series of exercises in which our city staff considered the local conditions for our community and how they should guide our selection of BMPs and Measurable Goals. • After the worieshop session, we worked with the NPDES Phase II Program Assessment Questionnaire that was included in the LMC Guide Plan notebook. This was a twelve-page document with a comprehensive list of questions that we used to guide us through a self- assessment activity, including consideration of a wide range of stormwater ap|Moaches. Page 2