Stormwater Management

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Stormwater Management
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Clean Communities

Stormwater runoff is water from rain and melting snow. It travels along gutters and flows over lawns, as well as driveways, parking lots and other impervious surfaces. It flows into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) including storm drains and catch basins and through storm drainpipes and ditches. Stormwater runoff eventually ends up in local waterbodies, flowing into lakes, streams, rivers, or wetlands.

Stormwater runoff usually is not treated and along the way may pick up trash (fast-food wrappers, cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups, etc.) and toxins and other pollutants (gas, motor oil, antifreeze, fertilizers, pesticides, and pet droppings). This polluted stormwater can kill fish and other wildlife, destroy wildlife habitat, contaminate drinking water sources, and force the closing of beaches because of health threats to swimmers. See Cleanwater NJ FAQs.

Why Has Stormwater Runoff Become Such a Problem?

Human activity is largely responsible for stormwater pollution. Everything that we put on the ground or into the storm drain can end up in our water. Each of us has a responsibility to make sure these contaminants stay out of our water. Whether we have clean water is up to you. 

Increasing commercial and residential development also have a great impact on local water resources. The more impervious surfaces there are such as roads, rooftops, parking lots and other hard surfaces that do not allow storm water to soak into the ground, the greater the rate of stormwater runoff. This means a greater volume of water carrying pollution into surface waters and less water soaking into the ground. Less water soaking into the ground also lowers ground water levels, which can dry up streams and hurt stream ecosystems, and can reduce the supply of well water.

Stormwater also erodes stream banks. This in turn degrades habitat for plant and animal life that depend on clear water. Sediment in water clogs the gills of fish and blocks light needed for subsurface plants. The sediment can also fill stream channels, lakes, and reservoirs, covering the bottom and negatively affecting flow, plants, and aquatic life.

Effective Stormwater Runoff Management Benefits

Stormwater management is a critical aspect of environmental protection.  It is also critical to our own health and safety.  We cannot simply capture stormwater runoff and discharge it into our streams without dealing with pollutants contained therein as well as the volume and rate of runoff from impervious surfaces.  The benefits of effective stormwater management will help us protect our wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, improve the health and quality of local waters, assist in flood control, conserve water resources, and protect public health.  Respecting and protecting our water is everyone's responsibility.

Requirements for Municipalities

The township is required to not only regulate the activities of developers, but to manage its own storm water facilities in such a way as not to pollute our streams. We must also have an active public participation and education component in the program. 

Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Best Management Practices manage stormwater runoff; and outfalls, which allow stormwater to return to the environment.  Not all portions of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) have BMPs. In some areas untreated runoff is released from outfalls directly into the water bodies we use for swimming, fishing, and providing drinking water. To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or transported into our natural water bodies through an MS4, federal and state stormwater regulations require MS4 operators to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and implement a stormwater management program.

New Jersey Stormwater Management rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8 specify general requirements for stormwater management plans and stormwater control ordinances, as well as content requirements and procedures for the adoption and implementation of regional and municipal stormwater management plans under the Municipal Land Use Law.  The New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual (BMP manual) was developed to provide guidance to address the standards in the Stormwater Management rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8. The BMP manual provides examples of ways to meet the standards contained in the rule. The methods referenced in the BMP manual are one way of achieving the standards.

Municipal stormwater management plans (MSWMP) documents the strategy of each municipality to address stormwater-related impacts. MSWMPs provide the structure and process for addressing stormwater management in the municipality. They are required by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Phase II Stormwater Permitting Rules; the mandatory elements of the plan are described in the Stormwater Management Rules.

Ewing is required to not only regulate the activities of developers, but to manage its own stormwater system in such a way as not to pollute our streams. The updated MS4 regulations also require an active public participation and education component in the program.

You can make a difference in your own backyard to help reduce stormwater runoff and keep our waters clean. Remember if it is on your lawn, driveway, or in the street, it will eventually make its way into our streams. For examples of what you can do see Ways to Keep Our Waters Clean on our Stormwater Resources webpage at ewingnj.org/stormwater.  

For additional information on Ewing centric implementation of stormwater management requirements see below for Ewing Documents, Educational Resources, and Ordinances.  See also our Outfalls map.