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money to upgrade, redesign, and replace their WHAT COULD BE IN THE stormwater and flood control systems in order to STORMWATER? not only meet the terms of the new standards, but also to mitigate storm damage to public and private The DPW’s stormwater system does not clean property as the number of storms per year in the or treat water before discharging it. Some of the pollutants that are commonly found in United States continues to rise. The hitch is this – our current wastewater stormwater are: • Oil, gasoline, antifreeze, heavy metals system is hugely dilapidated. It will cost Northamp‐ • Pet waste ton a projected 95.6 million dollars over the next 20‐ year period to do all the work that state and federal • Fertilizers and pesticides • Dirt and debris regulations require. In the next five years alone, the • Salt and sand Northampton Department of Public Works will • Soaps and detergents require 33 million of that total to start on the most • Leakage from dumpsters and grease storage urgent fixes. In order to deal with this seemingly insur‐ mountable challenge, Northampton is considering implementing of a new stormwater fee, which would be controlled and administered by a newly formed utility company – the Northampton Storm‐ water and Flood Control Utility. This utility would be much like a water or electric company service; they would charge a monthly fee to residents in exchange for the constant monitoring, maintenance, and repair of the city’s drainage and flood control HOW CAN WE HELP systems. This would create, for the first time, a dedi‐ WITH STORMWATER ISSUES? cated source of revenue to fund future improve‐ ments to drainage and flood control systems. Reduce the flow of rainwater and snow melt running into the street from your property: “Chicopee and Westfield are among the local com‐ munities that already bill users of their stormwater system,” noted Edward S. Huntley, Northampton’s Divert runoff from pavement, roofs, patios and pumps to grassy, gravel, planted or Director of the Department of Public Works. wooded areas of your property. The fee would be similar to the water and sewer bills that now go out. Charges would be based Use rain barrels to store extra water to use on impermeable surface area per acre, but the ini‐ for irrigation. tial estimate of $66 per month for a single‐family house could increase over time. Build a rain garden to absorb storm water. For the time being, money for the impending project will come from 20‐year federal bonds, as Use permeable pavers or pavement that there is no immediate way for the money to come allows rain and snowmelt to soak through from Northampton’s tax base. The hope is that with your driveway and walkways into the the creation of the wastewater utility, the city will ground. be able to establish the funding base for capital improvements as they are needed, and ensure that Use natural alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. the wastewater systems in place can meet or exceed pollution regulation going forward –with the ulti‐ Control soil erosion on your property by mate goal of having the least impact on the water‐ planting ground cover and stabilizing ways that we all live along. erosion-prone areas. + Hannah Hurvitt ‘13
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