Stormwater Management

Stormwater is rain and snow melt that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets, highways, and parking lots. As water runs off these surfaces, it can pick up pollution such as: oil, fertilizers, pesticides, soil, trash, and animal waste. From here, the water might flow directly into a local stream, or it may go into a storm drain and continue through storm pipes until it is released untreated into a local waterway.

Please be aware and conscientious; use pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides properly and efficiently to prevent excess runoff, pick up after pets and dispose of their waste properly.

In 1987, Congress changed the federal Clean Water Act by declaring the discharge of stormwater from certain industries and municipalities to be a point source of pollution. Due to this change, certain stormwater discharges now require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

Urban areas that collect stormwater runoff in municipal separate storm sewers (MS4’s) and discharge it to surface waters are required to have a permit under the federal Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stormwater regulations established two phases for the municipal stormwater permit program.
Phase I stormwater NPDES permits cover stormwater discharges from certain industries, construction sites involving five or more acres, and municipalities with a population of more than 100,000. In 1999, EPA issued the final Phase II stormwater regulations. The Phase II regulations expand the requirement for stormwater permits to all municipalities located in urbanized areas and to construction sites between one and five acres.

Lower Moreland Township has stormwater management regulations and ordinances for the development and construction process.