Storm Water Management

Storm water is the water that cuts through our neighborhoods on its way to area waterways. Below, learn how storm water affects you, what you can do about it, and what the City of St. Peters is doing to manage storm water in our community. Plus, we have useful links concerning storm water. For more information about storm water, call City Hall at ext. 1225 at 636.477.6600 or 636.278.2244.


 

 

Storm Water and You


Have you ever thought about the role you and your property play in our environment? Your behavior and the way you maintain your property affect not only yourself, but also your neighbors, our waterways and wildlife. This is because storm water that goes through your property also runs through your neighborhood and eventually reaches nature.

 

When rain falls in our community, it either soaks into the ground, evaporates, or runs off into storm sewers, ditches, creeks, and streams to rivers, lakes, and other waterways. In urban settings, there is more storm water run-off because there are more solid surfaces such as homes, streets and parking lots.

 

 

 

Storm sewers are pipes that lead to nearby waterways. Storm water enters these pipes through drains you see along street curbs. Drains can clog from littering, dumping waste, and leaving yard waste (e.g., leaves and grass clippings) in the street or on the curb. When waste clogs a storm sewer drain, this can result in flooding on your street. Plus, any waste that makes its way through the storm sewer system ends up in nearby waterways, harming the habitat and wildlife that lives there.

 

If you have a stream behind your house, you may find it tempting to just dump your yard waste over the side of the bank. Be aware that this waste chokes out vegetation on the side of the stream bank. When the plants on that stream bank die, the water starts to erode the barren soil. As the bank erodes, surrounding trees fall into the stream, blocking the flow of water and any other debris that comes down the stream. Water runs even faster through the newly developed bottleneck, speeding the erosion process even more. What seemed like a good idea to get rid of your yard waste now is threatening your property and maybe your home. A heavy rain could cause flooding at this bottleneck at any time. And, the eroding bank may eventually eat into your property. Plus, you’ve altered the environment in a harmful manner. Yard waste spreads invasive species of plants that can threaten existing native vegetation and the health of the stream. When plants decompose and create excess nutrients, this reduces the oxygen available in streams for fish and aquatic life.

 

Please, always pick up your waste. Learn more below about what you can do to help prevent erosion, pollution and flooding.

 

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What Can You Do?

 

 

Your actions can help a lot when it comes to storm water management and our environment. By following the tips below, you can help prevent erosion, pollution and even flooding.

  • Don't dump waste, period. Throw away all trash where it belongs. Learn more about solid waste disposal in St. Peters. In St. Peters, we make trash disposal, recycling and yard waste easy with curbside service. St. Peters residents also can drop off yard waste at Earth Centre for free. And, you can recycle items at St. Peters' Recycle City facility or St. Charles County's Recycle Works.
  • Don't shoot your grass clippings into the street and sidewalk. Point your mower so that it throws grass clippings onto your yard, not the street. To further reduce yard waste, use a mulching mower. For the best results for your lawn, "cut it high and let it lie." This means that when you mow the lawn, you cut it at a higher length so that the grass clippings mulch your lawn but won't choke your lawn. Alternatively, you could mow lower but more often.
  • Recycle your hazardous wastes such as household chemicals, paints, motor oil, cooking oils, etc. Learn more about where you can recycle hazardous wastes.
  • Don't allow soil to erode from your property. Sediment is also a pollutant in streams. Keep up your lawn and use landscaping to avoid bare spots.
  • Report illegal dumping. Illegal dumping is dumping of any waste upon any public right-of-way, City property or private property, without consent of the owner.
  • Volunteer! You can join hundreds of other local people who help pick up trash during our Clean Stream Days. Other volunteer options include the Adopt-a-Road program to pick up trash, stenciling signs on storm sewer inlets that remind people "Dump No Waste -- Drains to Stream," and more. Learn more about St. Peters volunteer opportunities.

 

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City of St. Peters Storm Water Management

 

In St. Peters, we manage storm water in our neighborhoods with thousands of storm drains that lead storm water through 166 miles of storm sewer pipes. The City of St. Peters also has a storm water plan to help deal with erosion and other storm water issues through regulations for developers and creek stabilization projects. Thanks to a 2010 storm water bond issue approved by St. Peters voters, the City of St. Peters also has the authority to issue $40 million in bonds over the coming years to address storm water issues related to flooding, erosion, pollution and federal guidelines.


St. Peters also spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on storm water improvements with funding from a 1/10-cent storm water/parks sales tax passed by voters in November 2000. This money is used on: 1) major creek stabilization projects with natural methods of erosion control such as using rock and plant life; and 2) "50/50" projects that address erosion problems in private yards caused by storm water coming from public property or right-of-way. The City pays 50% of the cost of materials for these types of projects, and the resident pays 50%. A City crew performs the labor.

 

 

 

DOWNLOAD A PDF DOCUMENT OF THE GENERAL STATE OPERATING PERMIT FOR THE CITY OF ST. PETERS' SMALL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)

 

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Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Plan

 

The City of St. Peters is listed as a mandatory Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and is required to design a storm water management program to meet the requirements of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II permit. Under the NPDES permit, the City of St. Peters must satisfy minimum control measures relating to illicit discharges to the MS4. The City of St. Peters Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) plan satisfies the requirements of Minimum Control Measure 3C-1 of the City of St. Peters MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program. The purpose of the IDDE plan is to outline the procedures to detect and remove illicit discharges and improper disposal into the MS4 to the maximum extent practicable within the City’s jurisdiction.

 

DOWNLOAD A PDF DOCUMENT OF THE CITY OF ST. PETERS' ILLICIT DISCHARGE AND DETECTION PLAN.

 

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River/Creek Levels


 

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Storm Water Links for Kids

 

Here are some links to fun and interesting pages that can help kids learn about storm water:

 

  • The Environmental Protection Agency helps to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment. Click here for games and facts.
  • The Storm Water Coalition was formed to facilitate the cleanup of storm water pollution and educate residents about storm water. Click here for comics and games.
  • The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources also has a fun storm water page for kids. Click here to check it out.

 

 

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