Champaign County Planning and Zoning
John Hall

Champaign County MS4 Storm Water Program

BACKGROUND

The Clean Water Act was passed by Congress in 1972 to help protect the nations waterways. From this act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program. The NPDES is a comprehensive National Stormwater Program for addressing the non-agricultural sources of storm water discharges which adversely affect the quality of our nation's waters. Champaign County was identified as a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) in 2003 and is responsible for monitoring point-source discharge and storm sewer infrastructure that falls within County jurisdiction.

Part of the MS4 requirements is to keep an updated Notice of Intent (NOI). The NOI explains how Champaign County implements six minimum control measures to support water quality within all stormwater discharge. These control measures each contain Best Management Practices (BMP) and are as follows:

  • Public Education and Outreach - Develop and implement programs and material in order to educate the public on the various ways to reduce storm water pollution.
  • Public Participation and Involvement - Involve Champaign County residents in developing, implementing, and reviewing activities that encourage clean water practices.
  • Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination - Identify harmful discharges and spills to drainage systems and implement enforcement strategies.
  • Construction Site Runoff Control - Instruct construction site operators to manage storm water runoff to reduce or eliminate pollution from construction sites.
  • Post-Construction Runoff Control - Enable property owners to manage storm water runoff to reduce pollution from a site after construction activities have ended.
  • Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping – Champaign County aims to minimize pollution from its own properties and facilities by reducing stormwater runoff pollution from pavement and open spaces from entering stormwater systems and local waterways.

A copy of the most current NOI as well as reports from past years can be viewed below. The report goes into detail of selected BMPs for the reporting year, summarizes the following years activities, and contains information on the annual stormwater survey conducted by Champaign County. A link to the survey is provided and can be taken at any time.

MS4 area map

Linked below are two infographics that have a variety of information regarding identifying stormwater problems, how to combat them, and other useful information from related websites.

Champaign County works with multiple other governmental entities in the County including The City of Champaign, City of Urbana, Village of Savoy, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. These five partners in addition to the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWDC) form the Champaign County Stormwater Partnership (CCSP). These groups all share resources with one another and develop similar strategies to fulfill their own separate MS4 permits. It is the goal of the CCSP to improve the quality of stormwater runoff in the area. More details can be found on the CCSP Website