Key Steps to Planning a Sustainable Preventative Maintenance Program for Local Governments' Public and Private Stormwater Management Facilities

Purpose and Benefits: We will not successfully achieve TMDL allocations and subsequently clean the Chesapeake Bay without implementing extensive preventative maintenance programs on existing stormwater (SWM) facilities. This presentation will highlight the elements that need to be considered when developing a sustainable preventative maintenance program for SWM facilities and will provide rudimentary cost estimates.Project Status: The City of Rockville is still in the beginning stages of implementing its preventative maintenance program and will continue to run the program based on an adaptive management philosophy. We are far enough along in the project planning to share lessons learned about initiating this type of program and share the first few years' costs.Take Away Message:1) To provide a roadmap for stormwater managers from smaller organizations for developing comprehensive, sustainable preventative maintenance programs.2) To emphasize to regulators the importance of stormwater management facility maintenance activities as a means of effectively restoring water quality.3) To stress to regulators that, unless these activities can be “counted” towards TMDL implementation, local governments will not allocate the funding needed for effective programs.Presentation Overview: This presentation provides an overview of the City of Rockville's inspection and enforcement program ensuring maintenance of privately-owned SWM facilities. It also outlines the process the city has used to develop its sustainable preventative maintenance program for public SWM facilities including the following:• Inventorying facilities;• Identifying the level of maintenance required for each SWM facility type;• Identifying and addressing maintenance backlogs;• Considering site specific impacts;• Scheduling maintenance;• Developing cost estimates.