MS4 Annual Report 2021
Storm Water Basics:
The Clean Water Utility Informational Video
Storm Water is water that originates from rain or melting snow. Storm
Water that does not soak in to the ground becomes surface runoff and
flows into road side ditches and storm sewers. It then flows across the
landscape, picking up a variety of hazardous materials, and washes them
into our lakes, rivers and streams. Contaminated surface runoff is the
number one cause of Wisconsin’s water quality issues.
The Federal
Government has enacted several new unfunded mandates requiring
municipalities to increase their efforts regarding storm water quality.
In order to comply with the Wisconsin DNR NR-216 permit,
The Village of Pleasant Prairie has created The Clean Water Utility to
fund capital projects needed to improve storm water quality. The four
major components used by the Village, to determine The Clean Water
Utility budget include operating expenses, new program costs, saving for
future projects and capital projects.
2006 was the first year of
the Clean Water Utility, and the Village Board decided to fund only
daily operations. This excluded any capital projects. The 2007 budget
will fund day to day operating expenses and system maintenance as well
as vehicle equipment replacement, some capital projects, new federally
mandated water quality programs, plus initiate a fund to draw on to
replace older storm sewer pipes and storm water basins.
All properties generate storm water runoff during rain events.
Storm water has become a concern for two main reasons – 1) the volume
and timing of runoff impacting flood control and water supplies and 2)
the potential health hazards that contaminated runoff carries with it
throughout the water cycle.
Because areas of development have more
impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roads, and buildings that do
not allow rain to infiltrate into the ground, more runoff is generated
per surface area than in less developed areas. This additional runoff
causes stream and river erosion as well as flooding when the storm water
collection system is overwhelmed by additional flow. Because water is
flushed out of the watershed during a storm event, very minor amounts of
water will infiltrate the already saturated soil to replenish our
groundwater or supply a base flow for stream during dry weather.
Water
we use in our homes finds its way into our household drains and is
eventually routed through our sanitary sewer system to a wastewater
treatment plant. But storm water or snow melt that flows into a storm
drain flows unimpeded and untreated into our natural and recreational
waterways. When you wash your cars in your driveway and let the soapy
rinse water flow into the street it eventually finds its way to a storm
water drain or ditch and into one our natural waterways. Look at your
driveway or downspout the next time it rains and think about where all
that rain water ends up. You probably already know that our storm sewer
system and ditches eventually drain into one of two primary bodies of
water. Surface water that drains into Lake Michigan flows towards the
Atlantic Ocean while any water draining into the Des Plaines River flows
southward to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Utility’s goal is to
keep our waterways clean by stopping contaminates before they can flow
into them. Clean rivers, lakes, and ground water are an essential
component to the health and well being of all.
The Clean Water Utility Informational Video
Other Clean Water Utility Informational Videos
Frequently Asked Questions Video
Clean Water Utility how it is Funded and a Budget Breakdown Video