Stormwater Management

Stormwater is produced every time rain or snow is not absorbed directly into the soil. Stormwater can pick up oils, litter, sediments, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and pathogens as it travels across roads, buildings, dumpsters, lawns, and parking lots. If this stormwater flows into lakes, streams, and bays, it can be a major source of water pollution. It is estimated that 70 percent of the water pollution in the United States comes from stormwater and other indirect discharges that are collectively called "nonpoint" sources.        

In 1972, the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) was adopted to improve the quality of our Nation’s waters. The Act sought to accomplish this by minimizing and eliminating what are commonly referred to as "point sources" of pollution, sources of pollution that originate from a pipe or other specific point of discharge.  The Clean Water Act was amended in 1987 to target the non-point sources of pollution.  Under Phase I of this effort, which began in 1990, municipalities having a population greater than 100,000 people were required to implement programs and projects that would reduce non-point pollution. In 2003 this requirement was extended to almost all other municipalities including the Village of Old Field under what is commonly referred to as "Phase II".         

In New York, Phase II requires that all regulated municipalities obtain a permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the discharge of stormwater runoff into their surface waters. As a condition of this permit, regulated municipalities must develop and implement a comprehensive stormwater management program that includes mandated programs and practices in the following six categories:

• Public education and outreach on stormwater impacts
• Public participation/involvement
• Illicit discharge detection and elimination
• Construction site stormwater runoff control
• Post-construction stormwater management in new development/redevelopment
• Pollution prevention/good housekeeping for municipal operations

Old Field's Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) has been established to improve coastal water quality and to comply with new regulations from NYSDEC and USEPA. Many waterbodies adjacent to Old Field are designated as impaired due to excessive levels of nutrients, pathogens and some contaminants. A variety of measures in the Village's SWMP will reduce loading of these constituents either by reducing sources or mitigating against their runoff into coastal waters. SWMP measures being implemented range from public education and participation to extensive refinement of runoff protection within the Site Plan process, as well as ongoing efforts to detect and eliminate spills. Storm water management has become a primary focus of regulatory agencies who, in turn, rely on municipalities and residents to decrease loadings so our waters can attain their full uses we all benefit from. Participants, such as residents and municipal officials, will find an expanding body of policy, permits, guidelines and infomrative literature at Village