The township is aware that residents may face stormwater runoff issues and problems. Please contact the township at 215-357-7300 and press 1 for Public Works or complete the form below. Click below to bring up the form, print it, fill it out, and send it to us via regular mail or email at administration@lstwp.org.
As stormwater flows over driveways, lawns, and sidewalks, it picks up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants. Stormwater can flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or coastal water. Anything that enters a storm sewer system is discharged untreated into the waterbodies we use for swimming, fishing, and providing drinking water. Polluted runoff is the nation’s greatest threat to clean water. By practicing healthy household habits, homeowners can keep common pollutants like pesticides, pet waste, grass clippings, and automotive fluids off the ground and out of stormwater. Adopt these healthy household habits and help protect lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters. Remember to share the habits with your neighbors!
Businesses also need to be aware that things they do or products they use in their daily operations can enter the stormwater system and effect our water sources. Runoff from construction sites, spills at fueling areas and chemicals used to keep outdoor areas clean can be picked up by rainwater and whisked into the storm sewer system.
If you observe an illicit discharge to a storm sewer or a stream, please report it to the township by calling 215-357-7300 and press 1 for Public Works. An illicit discharge to a storm drain or a stream is any discharge that is not composed entirely of stormwater. Examples are motor vehicle fluids, household waste, hazardous waste, grass clippings, leaf litter, animal wastes, or unauthorized discharges of any other non-stormwater waste. Contact 911 if you witness an environmental emergency such as an oil or hazardous material spill. You can also report an environmental complaint to the PADEP at 866-255-5158.
Lower Southampton Township has extensive Ordinance Codes in place for Storm Water Management. “Click Here” to review these Ordinances
Lower Southampton Township is asking for the help of all residents to Adopt a Storm Drain.
Anyone who may have a street storm drain or a rear-yard storm drain, please check them periodically to ensure that they remain free of leaves, grass clippings and other debris.
The Public Works Department routinely maintains storm drains, but grass clippings, leaves and trash can accumulate quickly.
Please contact the Public Works Department at 215-357-7300 and press 1 for Public Works to report any blocked storm drain or the sighting of conveyance or pouring of a hazardous substance (oil, paint, fuel, chemicals or cleaners) into the storm drain. ONLY RAIN DOWN THE DRAIN!
Thank you for helping us control stormwater runoff!
Stormwater pollution from point sources and nonpoint sources is a challenging water quality problem. Unlike pollution from industry or sewage treatment facilities, which is caused by a discrete number of sources, stormwater pollution is caused by the daily activities of people everywhere. Rainwater and snowmelt run off from streets, lawns, farms, and construction and industrial sites and pick up fertilizers, dirt, pesticides, oil and grease, and many other pollutants on the way to our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Stormwater runoff is our most common cause of water pollution.
Because stormwater pollution is caused by so many different activities, traditional regulatory controls will only go so far. Polluted storm water runoff is often transported to municipal separate storm sewer systems(MS4s) and ultimately discharged into local rivers and streams without treatment. EPA’s Storm Water Phase II Rule establishes an MS4 storm water management program that is intended to improve the Nation’s waterways by reducing the quantity of pollutants that storm water picks up and carries into storm sewer systems during storm events. Common pollutants include oil and grease from roadways, pesticides from lawns, sediment from construction sites, and carelessly discarded trash, such as cigarette butts, paper wrappers, and plastic bottles. When deposited into nearby waterways through MS4 discharges, these pollutants can impair the waterways, thereby discouraging recreational use of the resource, contaminating drinking water supplies, and interfering with the habitat for fish, other aquatic organisms, and wildlife.
Education and outreach are key components to any successful stormwater program.
What Are the Phase II Small MS4 Program Requirements?
Operators of regulated small MS4s are required to design their programs to:
Reduce the discharge of pollutants to the “maximum extent practicable” (MEP); Protect water quality; and satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act. Implementation of the MEP standard will typically require the development and implementation of BMPs (Best Management Practice) and the achievement of measurable goals to satisfy each of the six minimum control measures.
The Phase II Rule defines a small MS4 storm water management program as a program comprising six elements that, when implemented in concert, are expected to result in significant reductions of pollutants discharged into receiving waterbodies.