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Stormwater

Stormwater Utility

In January 2008 Chelan County adopted a stormwater utility to manage stormwater needs in developing areas around Wenatchee. All developed properties containing impervious surfaces (impervious surface includes rooftops and paved areas) are charged a service fee. The service area does not include properties within the city of Wenatchee.

Stormwater NPDES Program

Program Pollutants carried in stormwater runoff are quickly becoming a leading cause of water pollution in rivers and lakes. The Urban Growth Area of Wenatchee falls under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II requirements which require a specific set of actions to meet these Clean Water Act mandates. Chelan County is required to get a stormwater quality permit from the Department of Ecology for this service area under the NPDES regulations. This NPDES Phase II planning area will have the same boundary as the new Chelan County stormwater utility area.

In February of 2007, the Washington State Department of Ecology issued the Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit to the City of Wenatchee, Chelan County, Douglas County and the City of East Wenatchee. This permit requires each jurisdiction to develop and implement a stormwater program with the goal of reducing the amount of pollution in stormwater.

In addition, the permit requires each jurisdiction to maintain records on stormwater acitivites and provide annual reports to the Department of Ecology.

Chelan County 2011 Annual Report

To share resources and develop a consistent regional stormwater program, representatives from both cities and counties have been working together to meet the requirements of the permit. This group is called the Wenatchee Valley Stormwater Technical Advisory Committee (WVSTAC). Over the past five years the program has be developed and implemented. Additional information can be found on the WVSTAC webpage.

Stormwater Hotline

Stormwater is runoff from rain and snow storms. A system of gutters, ditches and storm drains collect the runoff and discharge it into local rivers and streams. Stormwater becomes a source of water pollution when oil, trash or other contaminants are dumped into gutters and storm drains.