Stormwater Management Program

Urbana's Stormwater Management Program meets the requirements of the City's permit with the Illinois EPA (IEPA).  The permit requires the City to comply with Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) and allows the City to discharge stormwater into its receiving streams.

As a condition of the MS4 permit, the City must adopt and implement six minimum control measures to improve the water quality of its stormwater discharges.  The six minimum control measures are:

1. Public Education and Outreach - Develop and initiate public education programs addressing the impacts of stormwater leaving our community.

2. Public Participation and Involvement - Involve residents and property owners in activities that promote clean water practices. (Boneyard Creek Community Day)

3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination - Seek out and eliminate sources of water pollution.

4. Construction Site Runoff Control - Ensure that all construction sites are operated and maintained to reduce or eliminate pollution leaving their sites.

5. Post-construction Runoff Control - Develop requirements of new development that promote clean water even after the construction is over.

6. Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping - Conduct City operations and maintenance in a manner that does not introduce additional pollution into the stormwater system and waterways.

For information on the potential effects of climate change on stormwater, please consult the following resources:

    Global Climate Change and Illinois - Illinois State Water Survey, Miscellanous Publication 131
    US Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/climate-research 
    National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration: https://www.Climate.gov

For information on Urbana's storm sewer system, click here.

Stormwater Utility Fee: 

A stormwater utility fee was set up in 2012 to fund stormwater-related projects in the City of Urbana. The fee is currently $8.00 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) per month; for all property types, the fee is proportional to the amount of impervious surface (i.e., pavements, rooftops, etc) on the property, where 1 ERU = 3,100 sq. ft. of impervious area. For more information on the stormwater utility fee, click here.

Collaboration:

The City collaborates with neighboring communities that also have MS4 permits to share common resources and develop a regional consistency in fulfilling permit requirements. The MS4 Technical Committee includes representation from the City of Champaign, the City of Urbana, the Village of Savoy, the University of Illinois and Champaign County. Committee activities include hosting stormwater conferences and sponsoring clean up events.  The committee has also created an informational website, www.ccstormwater.org to help with public education, outreach and involvement.