Friday, March 7, 2003

Work continues on stormwater ordinance

By ALISA KING
Special to The Citizen

During last week's Fairburn City Council meeting, the City Council listened to a report on the city's Stormwater Management Ordinance.

The state is requiring its cities and counties to adopt these ordinances as a part of their local programs. Cities in the state of Georgia are required to comply with a number of both state and federal laws, regulations and permits which require a city to address the impacts of post-development stormwater runoff quality and nonpoint source pollution.

The Stormwater Management Ordinance is based on the model developed by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District to address post-development stormwater management requirements for new development and redevelopment in a community.

Land development projects and other land use conversions, and their associated changes to land cover, permanently alter the hydrologic response of local watersheds and increase strormwater runoff rates and volumes, which in turn increase flooding, stream channel erosion, and sediment transport and deposition. Also, land development projects and other land use conversions contribute to increased nonpoint source pollution and degradation of receiving waters.

In addition, the impacts of post-development stormwater runoff quantity and quality can adversely affect public safety, public and private property, drinking water supplies, recreation, fish and other aquatic life, property values and other uses of lands and waters.

These adverse impacts can be controlled and minimized through the regulation of stormwater runoff quantity and quality from new development and redevelopment, by the use of both structural facilities as well as nonstructural measures, such as the conservation of open space and greenspace areas.

The preservation and protection of natural areas and greenspace for stormwater management benefits is encouraged through the use of incentives or credits. The Georgia Greenspace Program provides a mechanism for the preservation and coordination of those greenspace areas that provide stormwater management quantity and quality benefits.

City Administrator Jim Williams claims that the ordinances are too lengthy and complicated to understand. He explained the purpose of the ordinance is to protect, maintain and enhance the public health, safety, environment and general welfare by establishing minimum requirements and procedures to control the adverse effects of increased post-development stormwater runoff and nonpoint source pollution associated with new development and redevelopment.

It has been determined that proper management of post-development stormwater runoff will minimize damage to public and private property and infrastructure, safeguard the public health, safety, environment and general welfare of the public, and protect water and aquatic resources.

Fairburn's engineering consultant, Keck and Wood, is in the process of modifying the model ordinances for use in Fairburn. They have completed work on the ordinance for post-development stormwater.