KSWG | City of Kalamazoo – Protect Your Water

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Parchment

Mr. Kindleberger and a committee of citizens planned the riverfront community of Parchment, a model village carved out of the northern part of Kalamazoo Township.

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Galesburg

The City of Galesburg adjoins the Kalamazoo River and Morrow Lake and is a mid-sized city between Detroit and Chicago.

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Vicksburg

Vicksburg is the Village with a Vision. The Village of Vicksburg is committed to ensuring that stormwater runoff from its roadways and facilities complies with all federal and state environmental regulatory requirements.

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WMU

"Re-think Smart." It's more than book smarts. More important than IQ. It's the pursuit of purpose, daring to think differently, and not being afraid to question answers. We call it Rethink Smart.

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KVCC

Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) is a public community college in Kalamazoo established in 1966 and enrolls about 10,000 students. KVCC is committed to preserving our local waterways in our downtown campus with green infrastructure and at the Texas Township campus adjoining the West fork of the Portage Creek.

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Road Commission of Kalamazoo

The goal of the Board of County Road Commissioners of the County of Kalamazoo is using our expertise, energy and funds to provide the safest and most convenient road system possible, and to contribute to economic development and high quality of life throughout the county.

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Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioners Office

Our Mission is to provide for the health, safety and welfare of Kalamazoo County citizens, the protection of surface waters and the environment, and to promote the long-term environmental sustainability of Kalamazoo County by providing storm water management, flood control, soil erosion controls and education.

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City of Portage

To the City of Portage, protecting its natural treasures is an investment in the health, growth and stability of the community without being a burden on city resources. The city continuously engages its citizens to address current challenges and develop a future vision for our community - and ultimately ensure the city remains A Natural Place to Move.

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City of Kalamazoo

The City's Michigan National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit allows for the non-point source discharges of stormwater to the local surface water bodies. Our goals seek to improve water quality, provide more efficient development guidelines, and to provide controls to minimize localized flooding.

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Kalamazoo River Watershed Council

The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council's mission and vision come from a desire to protect, preserve, and promote the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries for current area residents and future generations. To restore and protect the health of the Kalamazoo River, its tributaries, and its watershed by collaborating with the community, government agencies, local officials, and businesses.

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Kalamazoo Public Schools

At Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) it is our mission to nurture the dreams of all students and empower all students to contribute to a better world. KPS is a vibrant, progressive district and home to "The Kalamazoo Promise", a unique scholarship that provides up to 100 percent, post-secondary tuition and fee assistance.

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mission statement

Mission Statement

The Kalamazoo Stormwater Working Group (KSWG) is a collaborative effort of outreach and education for our interconnected Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (or MS4s) in the Kalamazoo County area.

Rain falls and snow melts across hard and impervious surfaces that do not allow water to soak into the ground. The water flows to storm sewers or catch basins which direct it to a natural surface water body such as a wetland, river, pond or lake. Stormwater runoff carries salts, grass clippings, sediment, fertilizer, oils, pet waste, and other material left on driveways and sidewalks into the catch basins, and unfortunately they eventually drain to our natural water bodies.
KSWG partners work together to protect against harmful discharges to the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries:

Kalamazoo River Corridor
Portage-Arcadia Creek
Axtell Creek
Gull-Augusta Creek
Davis Creek/Olmstead Drain
Gourdneck Creek
Portage Creek

As well as discharges to the St. Joseph River:
Portage River
Rocky River
And the Paw Paw River.

Improving the quality of our local natural water bodies that citizens recreate in and enjoy for their beauty, habitats, wildlife and plant life is our goal. The water quality within the county's water resources affect the natural water bodies downstream as well. These are just a few: Austin Lake, Duck Lake, Gull Lake, Lake Allegan, Nottawa Creek, Asylum lake, Woods lake, David Creek, Morrow Lake, Twins lake, Atwater Millpond, Paw Paw Lake, Eagle Lake, Crooked Lake, and Indian Lake.

Only with everyone's collaboration can we achieve KSWG's goals! So please use our links above to join us in our efforts to be stewards of our natural surface water resources by preventing harmful discharges to our municipal stormwater drainage systems.