News
Stormwater Program Kicks Off System Inventory
Jan 10, 2005 by Cail Hammons
Mapping stormdrains will help protect water quality
Maybe you have noticed county workers downtown carrying special electronic equipment with an antenna that connects to a ball cap. Don’t worry; you haven’t missed out on the latest wireless trend.
The equipment is a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system that is being used to conduct an extensive inventory of all stormwater structures in Athens-Clarke County. The inventory will map the location and characteristics of stormwater infrastructure throughout the county.
To create a map of stormwater infrastructure, Transportation and Public Works employees are walking along roads and streams looking for drain inlets or pipe discharges to mark with the GPS system. The system uses satellites to mark the exact longitude and latitude of the structure so that it can be incorporated into the county’s existing Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping.
Engineers do not know exactly how many pipes, drains and channels make up the county’s drainage system. In recent years, about 2000 structures have been located and mapped, but officials believe that this number represents only a very small percentage of the entire system.
“There really was not a mechanism in place to map stormwater structures as they’ve been installed over the years,” explains Jason Peek, Department of Transportation and Public Works engineering administrator who oversees the stormwater management program. “We are finding brick lined channels and old clay piping that was constructed decades ago.”
Inventorying and mapping the county’s stormwater infrastructure is required as part of the federally mandated stormwater management program. Last year, commissioners approved a utility fee to fund stormwater management. The projected cost of the stormwater system inventory is around $500,000.
“We are able to collect and maintain a tremendous amount of information with the GPS equipment and mapping software,” explains Melody Melton, stormwater management engineer. “The technician logging the location of the structure with the GPS can enter all kinds of details about the structure that will be helpful in the future such as material type and size. We also record the condition of the structure and if any maintenance is needed.”
A stormwater system map is important to managing the county’s drainage because it gives engineers a way to locate and remedy problems.
“Without a system map, it is very difficult to know where all the parts of the system are located in order to determine the source of illegal connections and other problems,? says Melton.
County staff will soon begin looking for dry weather flow at stormwater outlets. Most storm pipes should remain dry except during rain events. If water is found flowing out of stormwater drainage pipes after a period of dry weather, engineers can use the system map to find the source of the discharge.
“There have been cases where waste was illegally dumped into the storm system. With a system map, we?re more likely to find the source of the discharge,” explains Melton.
The initial mapping is taking place in the downtown area. The project is expected to take several years to complete. In the meantime, all new installation of stormwater infrastructure is being documented through the plans review and construction process to ensure that it is added to the mapping database.
“This will be a tremendous tool for our stormwater management program once the inventory is complete,” says Melton. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Tagged: stormdrains, water quality, stormwater infrastructure, stormwater management
