Stormwater is excess runoff that is discharged across the land surface or through a man-made channel or pipe to a natural waterway. Development changes the vegetated cover, compacts soil and increase impervious (i.e. hard) surfaces. These changes affect the quantity (i.e. volume, velocity, frequency and duration) and quality of stormwater runoff. Stormwater management is a requirement for land disturbing activities and new developments that attempt to reduce runoff volume, control peak flow rate and improve water quality using best management practices, commonly referred to as BMPs.
Stormwater is regulated from residential, commercial and industrial land development under the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program (VESCP) and Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP).
The VESCP is managed individually by each County for land-disturbing activities over 10,000 square feet. The VESCP requires developments to control the quantity of water conveyed onsite and concentrated runoff being discharged offsite. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) administers the VSMP for the Counties of Culpeper, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock. Developments over one (1) acre of disturbance or within a common plan of development must register for the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination Program General Permit for Construction which requires an approved stormwater management plan that meets state’s requirements for water quantity and water quality (9VAC25-870 et. al.).
For more information, contact Richard Jacobs, P.E. at email@example.com or 540-825-8591.
- Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/StormwaterManagement/Publications.aspx
- Virginia Stormwater BMP Clearinghouse http://vwrrc.vt.edu/swc/NonProprietaryBMPs.html
- Low Impact Development Design Strategies: An Integrated Approach http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/green/upload/lidnatl.pdf
- Low Impact Development Hydrologic Analysis: https://engineering.purdue.edu/mapserve/LTHIA7/documentation/downloads/LID_HYDR.PDF
- EPA’s Low Impact Development http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/lid/
- EPA’s Nonpoint Source Pollution http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/
- Greene County’s Stormwater Management Program: http://www.greenecountyva.gov/government/depts/erosion-sediment-control
Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP): Addressing Stormwater runoff on your property
Do you have a drainage issue in your yard? Would your garden benefit from a rain cistern? Would you like to minimize the amount of turf you mow? We have a program for you! VCAP offers approximately 50% cost share to convert mowed turf to native plants, install rain cisterns that are 250+ gallons, install rain gardens to address drainage issues and more! For more information, visit: http://vaswcd.org/vcap. If you are in the Culpeper District’s 5 counties contact Richard Jacobs at 540-825-8591 or richardJ@culpeperswcd.org. For a copy of the VCAP manual, click here.