Storm Water Management

Storm Water Management is the idea of managing storm water and creating a level of awareness that promotes and enforces the overall protection of water resources as it relates to storm water bound pollutants.  Storm Water Management is a policy of regulations enacted and enforced by RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM).  The RI Pollution Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) section is responsible for the overall enforcement of the Rules and Regulations pertinent to EPA Guidelines.

Under the RIPDES program all municipal governmental agencies, such as Burrillville, must have a five year plan in place to address storm water related concerns, issues and promote an educational program to make residents of the community aware of the impacts on water quality to our local rivers, streams, ponds and lakes that storm water has.  This section of the Town of Burrillville’s web page discusses and provides information on RIPDES regulations as they affect our community and discuss some programs and projects you can expect to see as a result of these regulations.

Basically RIPDES regulations state that all municipalities that own and operate a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), which in simple terms is basically the many drainage conveyance systems throughout the town that convey storm water from the town owned buildings, parking lots and roads to the local tributaries that ultimately drain to the Blackstone River, that the community provide a plan to address the following Best Management Practice (BMP) criteria:

• Public Education and Outreach
• Public Participation/Involvement
• Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination
• Construction Site Runoff
• Post-Construction Site Runoff
• Pollution Prevention & Good Housekeeping
•  Phase II Storm Water Annual Report
• 2022 DRAFT Phase II Storm Water Annual Report
• Street Sweeping
• Sidewalk Sweeping

Over the course of the last two years the Town of Burrillville Planning and Public Works Departments along with the help of the local fire departments, schools and Conservation Commission has developed a five year action plan that specifically addresses RIDEM’s requirements under the EPA Phase II Storm Water Management Rules.

Burrillville’s Storm Water Management Plan is available at both the Department of Public Works and the Planning Office for public review.  If you would like to learn more about storm water management and what you can do to help right in your own home (click here).  The downloadable brochures in the EPA’s webpage are available at the Burrillville Town Hall and at the Department of Public Works.

Burrillville's Storm Water Management Plan is available here.