WARREN CO SWCD

conservation connection
​

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
    • Education Connection
    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship

1/24/2020

MS4, What?

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
Have you ever thought about your local storm sewer system? This may be a weird question to most but it occurred to me while I was watching a cartoon with my 6 year-old son that he probably felt that our local storm sewers were a place where weird, extra large, creatures lived. And before a couple years ago, I too, did not think too much about our storm sewer system. In fact, I had no idea that our storm sewer system is called an MS4 and is a part of a permit program to help protect our local waters. 

MS4 is short for, “Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.” MS4 refers to a collection of structures designed to gather stormwater and discharge it, without treatment, into local streams and rivers. In Warren County, many of our rural developments have stormwater management structures but it is only the communities that are classified by the United States Census Bureau as “urbanized areas,” that are a part of the MS4 permit program. In total, Warren County has six MS4s.

In the State of Ohio, there are over 300 MS4s which include college campuses and hospitals. Each MS4 gets authorization from a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to discharge stormwater into these systems. This permit is also commonly called a stormwater or MS4 permit. The word “National” refers to the connection with the Federal Clean Water Act and the word “discharge” refers to the fact that separate storm sewer systems eventually release untreated stormwater into local creeks, rivers and lakes. Each MS4 permit holder is charged with fulfilling the permit requirements but it is managed statewide by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has an oversight role because they are charged with implementing the Clean Water Act.

The  MS4 permit requires communities to have six focus areas. The six focus areas are: Public Education and Outreach; Construction Site Erosion Control, Public Participation and Involvement; Post Construction Stormwater Management; Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination; Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping.  Each of these six focus areas have permit requirements including education and in some cases management of regulated activities. This permit work is crucial in helping keep our stormwater clean.
Some communities in Ohio do not have separate storm sewer systems and thus, are not covered under the MS4 permit program. These communities have combined storm and sanitary sewers, meaning stormwater and grey water from homes/businesses flow through the same pipe. Combined sewage systems are under different requirements federally because with increased rainfall overwhelming these systems, raw sewage ends up in our local streams and rivers, which is how these systems were designed many years ago. Many combined sewer systems are installing green infrastructure to help handle high rainfall episodes to keep sewage from overflowing into local waters. For an example of how Northeast Ohio is handling their combined sewer system, check out, https://www.neorsd.org/stormwater-2/.

In my realization of what storm sewer systems actually do, and that they do not serve as a housing system for unusually large, mutant, half human animals, I see now how important it is to protect our storm sewers and thus keep our MS4 system clean. All plants and animals must have water to survive. If there was not water there would be no life on earth. I challenge you to take part in the Imagine a Day Without Water which happens in October. You can check out ways to take part in this day at: http://imagineadaywithoutwater.org/.
For more information about stormwater, check out the Penn State Extension Stormwater Basics Series - https://extension.psu.edu/water/stormwater-management or check out the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District at https://www.warrenswcd.com/.

-Cindy Meyer, Conservation Programs Specialist 

Share

0 Comments
Details

    Warren County SWCD Staff Blog

    A blog to keep you informed on all the latest news at Warren County SWCD and in the conservation world.

    Archives

    March 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    Clean Water Rule
    Compost
    Conservation
    Cover Crop
    Drain Tagging
    Earth Day
    Garden
    Great Outdoor Weekend
    Hazardous Waste Disposal
    Invasives
    Little Miami River
    Milkweed
    NACD
    Native Plants
    No-till
    OPHI
    Pollinators
    Poster Contest
    Rain Barrel
    Rain Garden
    Rain Water
    Recycling
    Reforestation
    Soil
    Soil Health
    Storm Drain
    Trees
    Water
    Wildlife
    Winter
    Women For Land Conservation

Picture

Contact:

PHONE: (513) 695 - 1337
EMAIL:   wcswcd@gmail.com
HOURS: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm (except holidays)

Connect:

Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District Copyright © 2016
Warren SWCD Privacy Notice. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.  Constant Contact's Privacy Notice.
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
    • Education Connection
    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship