BY ALFRED YATES P.E.
Stormwater Management is an important task for residential and commercial properties. Homeowners Associations (HOA’s) and Businesses Park Property Owners Associations (POA’s) have been responsible for the perpetual inspection, operation and maintenance of stormwater management structures, and other common structures, for decades. In the past this may have consisted of a handful of relatively straightforward storm water detention basins – Sounds easy right? Local and state regulators now require the installation of a veritable smorgasbord of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP’s) to address stormwater quality and infiltration, in addition to peak flow attenuation. The upkeep of these stormwater BMP’s can create a significant financial strain, if not properly managed and funded through ongoing association fees. Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual.
HOA’s and POA’s typically have little, to no experience, in the operation of these complex stormwater management facilities.
Some of the more common issues that Brickhouse Environmental routinely addresses are:
- Managing the transition of stormwater BMP’s from Developer to HOA and POA control;
- Infiltration structures that don’t infiltrate stormwater (You had one job!);
- Deteriorating culvert pipes and basin outlets;
- Lack of a Reserve Study to establish funding for stormwater BMP’s maintenance;
- Stabilizing severe scour at storm water discharge locations and adjacent stream banks;
- Soggy yards and flooding of basements caused by both poor grading and inadequate drainage;
- Providing Professional Engineering Expert Reports and litigation support to HOA’s; and
- Compliance with ongoing stormwater inspection and reporting requirements.
Given these often-overlooked liabilities, HOA’s and businesses should budget for the routine inspection and maintenance of their storm water facilities through regularly updated Reserve Studies. This ensures that adequate funds are in place to address the predictable, periodic costs to repair and maintain these facilities.
Brickhouse Environmental’s experienced staff of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Scientists are able to quickly assess stormwater situations, provide stormwater management solutions and respond to our client’s needs. Whether it is preliminary site planning, layout and design of new stormwater facilities, rehabilitation of existing stormwater facilities, inspection, expert testimony for litigation support or determining ongoing maintenance responsibilities, our highly trained staff is able to guide our clients through the ever evolving and complicated field of stormwater management.