Stormwater Services: Stormwater Master Plan and Phase II Compliance Case Study

CEI has dozens of stormwater clients throughout New England. In Maine, for example, CEI has been retained by the State to update and upgrade its set of three stormwater guidance manuals. The firm has also designed dozens of stormwater improvement projects and innovative best management practices (BMPs) and prepared dozens of Phase II plans under the new federal regulations. One of the most comprehensive projects involving all aspects of stormwater management and treatment was recently completed in Walpole, Massachusetts, where CEI sought the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) money for the 5-year stormwater compliance program for this community of about 25,000 in population. This project consisted of the following elements in a comprehensive program designed to complete the community's Phase II stormwater compliance for 2003-2008:

Base map and field work to map and locate all outfalls and the piped network
Hydrologic prioritization of the town's subwatersheds
Development of hydraulic information on the piped systems
Storm drain inspection and sampling for illicit discharges
Illicit discharge detection and elimination with tracking down problem areas
Regulatory revisions and legal authority for Phase II requirements
Municipal facility inventory of all maintenance related facilities
Contacting other Phase II entities and institutions
Identification of deficiencies of the piped system including areas of flooding and/or water quality issues and their causes/solutions
Conceptual BMPs to a 5-10% level for later grant submission
Community participation through public meetings, hearings and an information kiosk plus work with watershed organizations
Master Plan preparation including a full Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

In addition to the Master Plan, completed in 2004, CEI has also assisted the town with several grant projects to provide stormwater and other controls for the town's many ponds. These included the design shown above, a swirl technology separator using EPA's Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) separation technology in a cost-effective design coupled with wetlands treatment for polishing. The design is highly effective yet the cost was a fraction of what a "traditional" design might have cost.

Case Studies