Stormwater Forum, Wednesday, September 12

September means back to school for kids and back to educational meetings for adults! Start the month off by attending a forum on stormwater on Wednesday, September 12 at 7:30pm. Why stormwater? What is it?

Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate), be held on the surface and evaporate, or runoff and end up in nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies (surface water). (Wikipedia)

Stormwater runoff is generated from rain and snowmelt events that flow over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not soak into the ground. (Environmental Protection Agency—EPA)

Why should you care about stormwater—except when there is so much of it that it floods your basement? Stormwater is the number one source of pollution in the rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal waters in Massachusetts. Wayland is one of 260 municipalities in the Commonwealth that will have to pay more attention to stormwater because new regulations under the Clean Water Act went into effect July 1.

The new rules are known by the permit cities and towns now must obtain from the EPA: MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems). Under MS4, cities and towns must manage their stormwater systems (catchbasins to underground pipes) that collect water from driveways and roadways and discharge it into bodies of water. They must map their full drainage system, sample for water quality, educate the public, revise development bylaws and regulations, and retrofit the system to treat pollution—with green infrastructure where possible.

The Town has been operating under a 2003 MS4 Permit that is now being reenewed with significant and burdensome regulations and discharge threshold limits.

These efforts will be a challenge and costly. The Board of Selectmen and the League of Women Voters of Wayland, co-sponsors of the forum, urge you to attend the forum, which will be held in the Senior Center at the Town Building on Wednesday, September 12th, at 7:30. Residents, local board members, and developers all have a role in reducing pollutants discharged into local rivers and streams that provide many of us with the water we drink.

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