Stormwater affects the water you drink.When precipitation hits the ground, some water trickles down into groundwater aquifers, while the rest flows on the surface to lakes, streams and rivers. Depending on where you live, your drinking water comes from either surface water (lakes and rivers) or a groundwater aquifer.

-Henry the Water Drop

Henry Says
Henry Says

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN

The City of Kalamazoo - Protect Your Water revised its technical document "Performance Standards for Groundwater Protection Within Wellhead Protection Capture Zones and Stormwater Management" in 2015. The revisions were implemented to meet the new post-construction stormwater runoff requirements in the 2015 State of Michigan National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for the discharge of stormwater to the surface waters of the state, to improve language clarity, provide more efficient guidelines for developers during the site plan review process, and to consider additional controls to minimize localized flooding.

Our new stormwater protection partner?

The City has fulfilled the requirements of the Phase II stormwater regulations in their recently approved 2019 NPDES Individual Permit for the discharge of stormwater to the surface waters of the state. Under an Inter-Agency Agreement between the City of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), our new partner agreed to "nest" under the City's Permit by complying with all necessary measure to report and resolve stormwater quality issues using the City's ordinances and other regulatory plans. KVCC has several stormwater points of discharge to the surface water in their downtown campuses. Working collaboratively with the City, KVCC developed the state approved Stormwater Management Plan. This includes the implementation of the Illicit Discharge Elimination Plan (IDEP).

ILLICIT DSCHARGE, is any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge or seepage to the stormwater system, and does not consist of only stormwater or only uncontaminated groundwater.

The IDEP program was established to prohibit and eliminate illicit discharges and connections including sanitary wastewater to the City of Kalamazoo's municipal stormwater sewer system. Together the City and KVCC will tackle, instances of non-compliance, resolve violations and enforce stormwater ordinances and other regulations. KVCC's nesting agreement also includes a Public Education Plan outlining the strategies its partners can participate in to educate the public on stormwater issues and concerns.

View the collaborative Stormwater Management Plan 2019, the Stormwater Management Plan Table Summary and the Stormwater Public Education Plan. The Performance Standards for stormwater management in the City are essential for developers going through the Site Plan Review process. Additional information can be found herein or can requested via the contact page.

Get Involved!

You can help keep Kalamazoo's water clean! Some tactics include using your property wisely, disposing of hazardous products properly, conserving water, and more. Learn about proper disposal and ways to conserve water.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by a grant through the Watershed Council Support Program by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's Nonpoint Source Program to Kalamazoo Stormwater Working Group for the Multilingual Outreach and Education project. The contents of the document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Este proyecto ha sido financiado en su totalidad o en parte por una subvención a través del Programa de Apoyo del Consejo de Cuencas Hidrográficas del Departamento de Medio Ambiente, Grandes Lagos y Energía de Michigan, Programa de Fuentes No Puntuales para el Grupo de Trabajo de Aguas Pluviales de Kalamazoo para el proyecto de Educación y Alcance Multilingüe. El contenido del documento no refleja necesariamente los puntos de vista y las políticas del Departamento de Medio Ambiente, Grandes Lagos y Energía, ni la mención de nombres comerciales o productos comerciales constituye respaldo o recomendación para su uso.

Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP)