2003 Coastal Municipal Stormwater Infrastructure Mapping Project, Marcoux, J

Jeffrey Marcoux, N.H. Department of Environmental Services

Abstract

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) received funds in 2003 from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) to provide assistance to coastal communities to develop storm sewer infrastructure maps. This final report describes the grant projects that were completed in Farmington, Dover, Durham, Seabrook, Somersworth, and North Hampton. NHEP chose to fund stormwater infrastructure mapping projects for a number of reasons. Primarily, this grant was established in order to fulfill one of the water quality action plans identified in the NHEP Management Plan. In addition, the Coastal/Piscataqua watershed has been identified by DES as a priority watershed in need of restoration. Updated and comprehensive maps are a valuable tool for identifying pollution sources in the storm drainage system. Finally, five of the communities that were awarded grants are regulated as small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) under the Phase II federal stormwater regulation. The financial assistance these municipalities received has helped them comply with one of the requirements of the Phase II regulations.