How does the Village of Pittsford manage Stormwater?

In the Village of Pittsford, stormwater is managed through comprehensive land use planning, zoning laws, building codes, and a local erosion and sediment control, construction/post construction stormwater pollution prevention and illicit discharge law.  Stormwater is also regulated at the State and Federal government level as well.  

Since significant changes were made to the Federal Clean Water Act in 1972 and 1978, the quality of the nation’s water resources has greatly improved.  Unfortunately, about 40% of the nation’s streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes, ponds, and embayment areas still receive contaminated stormwater runoff from rural and urban areas.  To ensure that continued progress is made by the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) established a new set of stormwater regulations in 2003 to help control stormwater run-off. These regulations placed strict controls on earth disturbing activities and mandated that local municipalities implement minimum measures to mitigate the impacts of stormwater run-off on our water resources.

These Stormwater Regulations require the Village of Pittsford to develop a Stormwater Management Program that focuses on ways to improve water quality and reduce stormwater pollutants within the community.  Pittsford’s program has been under development since early 2004 and has implemented many of the recommended pollution prevention measures.  To track Pittsford’s progress and the success with its program, an Annual Report is prepared and submitted to the NYSDEC for review every June.  The Annual Report attempts to outline specific water quality control activities undertaken by the Village during the previous year.