Stormwater management concerns the control of

water (from rain, melting ice or snow) that runs off the

surface of the land.The amount and rate of runoff is

increased considerably as land is developed;

construction of impervious surface (e.g. parking lots)

hinders the infiltration of rainfall into the soil.

Therefore stormwater management is imperative to

offset the possible impacts of development –

flooding and erosion problems, concentration of flow

on neighboring properties, damages to infrastructure,

and non-point source pollution (i.e. pollution that comes from the general drainage of the land such as runoff from parking lots and farmland).

In accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit regulations, South Beaver Township is required to develop and implement a stormwater management program. The program is based on the federal Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) protocol (developed by DEP).

The DEP’s protocols provide our township with suitable guidelines to design a local program that addresses the DEP’s six Best Management Practices (or BMPs), which are also known as “control measures.” These six BMP’s are designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from MS4s, to the maximum extent practicable, to protect water quality, and to satisfy the appropriate requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act. The six BMP categories are: