The City of Paris is responsible for developing and implementing a Storm Water Management Plan as required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).
There are approximately 7,250 permitted Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), including large and small MS4s that exist nationwide, operating under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) MS4 permit. The NPDES MS4 permit requires permittees to develop and implement a comprehensive Storm Water Management Program (SWMP) that must include pollution prevention measures, treatment or removal techniques, monitoring, use of legal authority, and other appropriate measures to control the quality of storm water discharged to the storm drains and then to waters of the United States.
Stormwater is more commonly known as runoff and it is the product of rain or snow that falls on streets, parking areas, rooftops and other hard surfaces. When stormwater cannot soak into the ground it is forced to flow through the stormwater system. The city’s various stormwater drainage systems include: curbs, gutters, ditches, pipes, storm sewers, and detention ponds. After stormwater flows through the stormwater system it is discharged directly into our waterways.
Stormwater that runs across impervious surfaces before getting to the stormwater system picks up pollutants/contaminants such as litter, yard debris, oil, antifreeze, soil, pet waste, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. Once stormwater combines with these contaminants it is polluted. Over time, all of these pollutants accumulate in our waterways and cause numerous challenges to not only our local creeks and rivers, but also to the Tennessee River and Kentucky Lake. That is because unlike our sanitary sewer collection and treatment system, our stormwater receives no treatment before being released into the environment.
Because of the above and for the safety of the public and in effort to protect public and private property, stormwater must be properly managed. The EPA considers pollution from urban stormwater to be one of the most important sources of contamination to the nation’s waterways.
The stormwater program for the City of Paris seeks to do the following:
- Control flooding as much as possible by cleaning curbs and gutters, storm drains, culverts, ditches, and pipes.
- As a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) the city regulates development through design standards, reviews construction plans, inspects construction sites, and enforces various other MS4 regulations.
- Educate the public, implement clean water programs, inspect drainages, monitor runoff, comply with federal and state regulation, and comply with the Clean Water Act.