Storm Water Management

 

The City of Pewaukee is a Phase 1 NR216 Permitted community through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).  The NR216 legislation came from ultimately from the Clean Water Act which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the WDNR.  As part of this regulation, the City was required to adopt a storm water and erosion control ordinance (Chapter 19) and enter into a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit.  Our first permit began November 1, 2004 and was just recently renewed (see link to view our permit). 

The current City Storm Water Management program has very minimal funding on an annual basis for basic maintenance and permit compliance.  Capital storm water management projects typically do not receive funding for various reasons including funding and complications with our assessment policy.  It is our opinion that the storm water management issues have been neglected for at least the last 15 years, probably more. 

The maintenance that does occur is very limited by funds and staffing time.  In 2008, the budget allocation for storm water related items was $41,416.  In 2009, $144,800 was allocated which included $91,300 to complete this Storm Water Utility Implementation Study leaving approximately $53,500 for projects and maintenance.  In 2010, $30,800 is allocated to the projects and maintenance.  Also in 2010, an additional $408,000 is allocated to a partially grant funded project ($184,000) for the Springdale Road flooding.  The funding maintenance that is currently funded include minor ditching work, catch basin cleaning, catch basin repair, and a minor amount of curb and gutter repair.

Due to state levy limits and the fiscal restraints of the community, the City is pursuing adoption of a Storm Water Management Utility to fund the unfunded mandates from the NR216 permit and to begin a program to address the ongoing maintenance issues that some citizens battle with after many precipitation events throughout the year. 




Jeffrey Weigel, P.E.
Director of Public Works
Phone: (262) 691-0804
Fax: (262) 691-5729,
Email: publicworks@pewaukee.wi.us