Stormwater Maintenance
The city defines its extent of service (EOS) for the purposes of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) to be all drainage structures and systems within the city’s public right of way and easements.
The Level of Service (LOS) Policy is defined as the types and frequencies of O&M activities that a community will provide to different components of the drainage system.
Within the public right of way and for publicly-owned stormwater controls, the City will inspect and provide periodic, remedial and condition driven inspections and maintenance. However, for privately-owned control structures, the City will typically only inspect the condition and provide information and/or recommendations on proper maintenance to the private owners.
City Inspection & Maintenance Responsibilities
As part of the city’s newly approved Stormwater Management Plan, the city is responsible for the following inspection and maintenance activities:
- The dam will be inspected monthly and mowed monthly during the growing season. If deficiencies are noted, maintenance to be specified by Georgia Safe Dams. (In addition to the city’s monthly inspections, Georgia Safe Dams performs an annual inspection.)
- The Open Drainage System (ditches, canals, swales) determined to be the city’s responsibility will be inspected and maintained on a six-week rotational basis from March to November. Maintenance includes removal of manmade and natural objects that could block the system, manual removal of excess emergent vegetation, mowing of bank side vegetation, litter removal, and re-grading to match existing pipe inverts if necessary.
- The Closed Drainage System (pipes, catch basins, culverts, outfalls) will be inspected on a five-year rotational basis, or 20% each year over five years. Maintenance includes cleaning catch basins and pipes, removing blockages from culverts, and investigating dry weather flows from outfalls.
- Private structural controls (retention / detention ponds, wetlands and infiltration basins, etc.) will be inspected at a rate of 20% a year such that 100% of private structural controls will be inspected during the five-year permit cycle. Maintenance of private ponds will be subject to maintenance agreements, where in existence. If no maintenance agreement exists, then the private property owner is responsible for maintenance.
- Complaint response maintenance or remedial maintenance is performed based on evidence of system impairment or failure identified through citizen complaints or city staff inspection.
Stormwater Complaint Log
As part of its Stormwater Management Plan, the city began keeping a log of stormwater-related complaints in 2008.