Education & Outreach

What is Stormwater?
Stormwater is rainwater and melted snow that runs off streets, lawns and other sites. When stormwater is absorbed into the ground, it is filtered and ultimately replenishes aquifers or flows into streams and rivers. In developed areas, however, impervious surfaces such as pavement and roofs prevent precipitation from naturally soaking into the ground. Instead, the water runs rapidly into storm drains, sewer systems and drainage ditches which can cause:

  • Downstream flooding
  • Stream bank erosion
  • Increased turbidity (muddiness created by stirred up sediment) from erosion
  • Habitat destruction
  • Changes in the stream flow hydrograph (a graph that displays the flow rate of a stream over a period of time)
  • Combined sewer overflows
  • Infrastructure damage
  • Contaminated streams, rivers and coastal water

Why Manage Stormwater?
Traditional stormwater management design has been focused on collecting stormwater in piped networks and transporting it off site as quickly as possible, either directly to a stream or river, to a large stormwater management facility (basin) or to a combined sewer system flowing to a wastewater treatment plant.

Low impact development (LID) and wet weather green infrastructure addresses these concerns through a variety of techniques, including strategic site design, measures to control the sources of runoff and thoughtful landscape planning.

LID aims to restore natural watershed functions through small-scale treatment at the source of runoff. The goal is to design a hydrologically functional site that mimics predevelopment conditions.

Wet weather green infrastructure encompasses approaches and technologies to infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrologies.

Stormwater Definitions
Stormwater Related Definitions as defined by the U.S. EPA NPDES

Events and Meetings
2012 Annual SWPPP Meeting Presentation

Each year, the City of Fairmont will hold a stormwater public meeting. The goal of this meeting is to receive feedback from the community about stormwater management topics. This meeting will also serve as an opportunity to educate the public on stormwater management and water quality issues. The City will discuss any input received from the public to make revisions to the City’s SWPPP.

The next meeting date and time will be posted at this location.

Links of Interest
Stormwater Home Page
Education & Outreach
Land Disturbance Permit Application
Land Disturbance Permit Transfer Fact Sheet
MS4 Permit
MS4 Annual Public Meeting – 2017
MS4 Annual Public Meeting – 2014
MS4 Annual Public Meeting – 2013
Public Feedback
Residential SWPPP Example
Residential SWPPP Guidance
Shoreland Residential SWPPP Example
Stormwater Links
Stormwater Proposed Ordinance 2018
Stormwater Survey – 2018

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