For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AGRICULTURAL LAND-DISTURBING ACTIVITY. Tillage, planting, cultivation, or harvesting operations for the production of agricultural or nursery vegetative crops. The term also includes pasture renovation and establishment, the construction of agricultural conservation practices, and the installation and maintenance of agricultural drainage tile. For purposes of this subchapter or standards, the term does not include land-disturbing activities for the construction of agricultural related facilities, such as barns, buildings to house livestock, roads associated with infrastructure, agricultural waste lagoons and facilities, lakes and ponds, wetlands, and other infrastructure.
BASE FLOW. Stream discharge derived from groundwater sources as differentiated from surface runoff. Sometimes considered to include flows from regulated lakes or reservoirs.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. Design, construction, and maintenance practices and criteria for stormwater facilities that minimize the impact of stormwater runoff rates and volumes, prevent erosion, and capture pollutants.
BUFFER STRIP. An existing, variable width strip of vegetated land intended to protect water quality and habitat.
CAPACITY (OF A STORM DRAINAGE FACILITY). The maximum flow that can be conveyed or stored by a storm drainage facility without causing damage to public or private property.
CATCH BASIN. A chamber usually built at the curb line of a street for the admission of surface water to a storm drain or subdrain, having at its base a sediment sump designed to retain grit and detritus below the point of overflow.
CHANNEL. A portion of a natural or artificial watercourse which periodically or continuously contains moving water, or which forms a connecting link between two bodies of water. It has a defined bed and banks which serve to confine the water.
COMPREHENSIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. A comprehensive stormwater program for effective management of stormwater quantity and quality throughout the community.
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND. A human-made shallow pool that creates growing conditions suitable for wetland vegetation and is designed to maximize pollutant removal.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY. Land-disturbing activities, and land-disturbing activities associated with the construction of infrastructure and structures. This term does not include routine ditch or road maintenance or minor landscaping projects.
CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCESS. A stabilized stone surface at all points of ingress or egress to a project site, for the purpose of capturing and detaining sediment carried by tires of vehicles or other equipment entering or exiting the project site.
CONTIGUOUS. Adjoining or in actual contact with.
CONTOUR. An imaginary line on the surface of the earth connecting points of the same elevation.
CONTOUR LINE. Line on a map which represents a contour or points of equal elevation.
CONTRACTOR or SUBCONTRACTOR. An individual or company hired by the project site or individual lot owner, their agent, or the individual lot operator to perform services on the project site.
CONVEYANCE. Any structural method for transferring stormwater between at least two points. The term includes piping, ditches, swales, curbs, gutters, catch basins, channels, storm drains, and roadways.
CROSS-SECTION. A graph or plot of ground elevation across a stream valley or a portion of it, usually along a line perpendicular to the stream or direction of flow.
CULVERT. A closed conduit used for the conveyance of surface drainage water under a roadway, railroad, canal, or other impediment.
DECHLORINATED SWIMMING POOL DISCHARGE. Chlorinated water that has either sat idle for seven days following chlorination prior to discharge to the MS4 conveyance, or, by analysis, does not contain detectable concentrations (less than 0.05 milligram per liter) of chlorinated residual.
DESIGN STORM. A selected storm event, described in terms of the probability of occurring once within a given number of years, for which drainage or flood control improvements are designed and built.
DETENTION. Managing stormwater runoff by temporary holding and controlled release.
DETENTION BASIN. A facility constructed or modified to restrict the flow of stormwater to a prescribed maximum rate, and to detain concurrently the excess waters that accumulate behind the outlet.
DETENTION STORAGE. The temporary detaining of storage of stormwater in storage facilities, on rooftops, in streets, parking lots, school yards, parks, open spaces, or other areas under predetermined and controlled conditions, with the rate of release regulated by appropriately installed devices.
DETENTION TIME. The theoretical time required to displace the contents of a tank or unit at a given rate of discharge (volume divided by rate of discharge).
DETRITUS. Dead or decaying organic matter; generally contributed to stormwater as fallen leaves and sticks or as dead aquatic organisms.
DEVELOPER. Any person financially responsible for construction activity, or an owner of property who sells or leases, or offers for sale or lease, any lots in a subdivision.
DEVELOPMENT. Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including but not limited to:
(1) Construction, reconstruction, or placement of a building or any addition to a building;
(2) Installing a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for a manufactured home, or installing a recreational vehicle on a site;
(3) For more than 180 days;
(4) Installing utilities, construction of walls, construction of roads, or similar projects;
(5) Construction of flood control structures such as levees, dikes, dams, or channel improvements;
(6) Mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation, clearing, deforestation, or drilling operations;
(7) Construction or reconstruction of bridges or culverts;
(8) Storage of materials; or
(9) Any other activity that might change the direction, height, or velocity of flood or surface waters.
DEVELOPMENT does not include activities such as the maintenance of existing buildings and facilities such as painting, re-roofing, resurfacing roads, or gardening, plowing, and similar agricultural practices that do not involve filling, grading, excavation, or the construction of permanent buildings.
DISCHARGE. Usually the rate of water flow. A volume of fluid passing a point per unit time commonly expressed as cubic feet per second, cubic meters per second, gallons per minute, or millions of gallons per day.
DISPOSAL. The discharge, deposit, injection, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that the solid waste or hazardous waste, or any constituent of the waste, may enter the environment, be emitted into the air, or be discharged into any waters, including ground waters.
DITCH. A human-made, open watercourse in or into which excess surface water or groundwater drained from land, stormwater runoff, or floodwaters flow either continuously or intermittently.
DRAIN. A buried slotted or perforated pipe or other conduit (subsurface drain) or a ditch (open drain) for carrying off surplus groundwater or surface water.
DRAINAGE. The removal of excess surface water or groundwater from land by means of ditches or subsurface drains. Also see NATURAL DRAINAGE.
DRAINAGE AREA. The area draining into a stream at a given point. It may be of different sizes for surface runoff, subsurface flow, and base flow, but generally the surface runoff area is considered as the DRAINAGE AREA.
DRY WELL. A type of infiltration practice that allows stormwater runoff to flow directly into the ground via a bored or otherwise excavated opening in the ground surface.
DURATION. The time period of a rainfall event.
ENVIRONMENT. The sum total of all the external conditions that may act upon a living organism or community to influence its development or existence.
ERODIBILITY INDEX (EI). The soil erodibility index (EI) provides a numerical expression of the potential for a soil to erode considering the physical and chemical properties of the soil and the climatic conditions where it is located. The higher the index, the greater the investment needed to maintain the sustainability of the soil resource base if intensively cropped. It is defined to be the maximum of (RxKxLS)/T (from the universal soil loss equation) and (CxI)/T (from the wind erosion equation), where R is a measure of rainfall and runoff, K is a factor of the susceptibility of the soil to water erosion, LS is a measure of the combined effects of slope length and steepness, C is a climatic characterization of wind speed and surface soil moisture, and I is a measure of the susceptibility of the soil to wind erosion. ERODIBILITY INDEX scores equal to or greater than eight are considered highly erodible land.
EROSION. The wearing away of the land surface by water, wind, ice, gravity, or other geological agents. The following terms are used to describe different types of water EROSION:
(1) ACCELERATED EROSION. Erosion much more rapid than normal or geologic erosion, primarily as a result of the activities of humans;
(2) CHANNEL EROSION. An erosion process whereby the volume and velocity of flow wears away the bed and/or banks of a well-defined channel;
(3) GULLY EROSION. An erosion process whereby runoff water accumulates in narrow channels and, over relatively short periods, removes the soil to considerable depths, ranging from one to two feet to as much as 75 to 100 feet;
(4) RILL EROSION. An erosion process in which numerous small channels only several inches deep are formed; occurs mainly on recently disturbed and exposed soils (see RILL);
(5) SHEET EROSION. The gradual removal of a fairly uniform layer of soil from the land surface by runoff water; and
(6) SPLASH EROSION. The spattering of small soil particles caused by the impact of raindrops on wet soils; the loosened and spattered particles may or may not be subsequently removed by surface runoff.
EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL. A practice, or a combination of practices, to minimize sedimentation by first reducing or eliminating erosion at the source and then as necessary, trapping sediment to prevent it from being discharged from or within a project site.
FILL MATERIAL. Any material used for the primary purpose of replacing a wetland area with dry land or of changing the bottom elevation of a wetland or a waterbody. This definition shall be considered to be automatically amended to conform with the definition of FILL MATERIAL established, from time to time, by the United States of America or United States Army Corps of Engineers.
FILTER STRIP. Usually a long, relatively narrow area (usually, 20-75 feet wide) of undisturbed or planted vegetation used near disturbed or impervious surfaces to filter stormwater pollutants for the protection of watercourses, reservoirs, or adjacent properties.
FLOATABLE. Any solid waste that will float on the surface of the water.
FLOOD (or FLOOD WATERS). A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow, the unusual and rapid accumulation, or the runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOODPLAIN. The channel proper and the areas adjoining the channel which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regulatory or 100-year flood. Any normally dry land area that is susceptible to being inundated by water from any natural source. The FLOODPLAIN includes both the floodway and the floodway fringe districts.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplains adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge the peak flow of the regulatory flood of any river or stream.
FLOODWAY FRINGE. The portion of the flood plain lying outside the floodway, which is inundated by the regulatory flood.
FOOTING DRAIN. A drain pipe installed around the exterior of a basement wall foundation to relieve water pressure caused by high groundwater elevation.
GARBAGE. All putrescible animal solid, vegetable solid, and semisolid wastes resulting from the processing, handling, preparation, cooking, serving, or consumption of food or food materials.
GASOLINE OUTLET. An operating gasoline or diesel fueling facility whose primary function is the resale of fuels. The term applies to facilities that create 5,000 or more square feet of impervious surfaces, or generate an average daily traffic count of 100 vehicles per 1,000 square feet of land area.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM. A computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulation, and displaying geographically referenced information. This technology can be used for resource management and development planning.
GRADE.
(1) The inclination or slope of a channel, canal, conduit, and the like, or natural ground surface usually expressed in terms of the percentage the vertical rise (or fall) bears to the corresponding horizontal distance.
(2) The finished surface of a canal bed, roadbed, top of embankment, or bottom of excavation; any surface prepared to a design elevation for the support of construction, such as paving or the laying of a conduit.
(3) To finish the surface of a canal bed, roadbed, top of embankment, or bottom of excavation, or other land area to a smooth, even condition.
GRADING. The cutting and filling of the land surface to a desired slope or elevation.
GRASS. A member of the botanical family Graminae, characterized by blade-like leaves that originate as a sheath wrapped around the stem.
GROUNDWATER. Accumulation of underground water, natural or artificial. The term does not include human-made underground storage or conveyance structures.
HABITAT. The environment in which the life needs of a plant or animal are supplied.
HIGHLY ERODIBLE LAND (HEL). Land that has an erodibility index of eight or more.
HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE. A numeric United States Geologic Survey code that corresponds to a watershed area. Each area also has a text description associated with the numeric code.
HYDROLOGY. The science of the behavior of water in the atmosphere, on the surface of the earth, and underground. A typical hydrologic study is undertaken to compute flow rates associated with specified flood events.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE. Any discharge to a conveyance that is not composed entirely of stormwater except naturally occurring floatables, such as leaves or tree limbs.
IMPAIRED WATERS. Waters that do not or are not expected to meet applicable water quality standards, as included on IDEM’s CWA § 303(d) list of impaired waters, being 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d).
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE. Surfaces, such as pavement and rooftops, which prevent the infiltration of stormwater into the soil.
INDIVIDUAL BUILDING LOT. A single parcel of land.
INDIVIDUAL LOT OPERATOR. A contractor or subcontractor working on an individual lot.
INDIVIDUAL LOT OWNER. A person who has financial control of construction activities for an individual lot.
INFILTRATION. Passage or movement of water into the soil. INFILTRATION practices include any structural BMP designed to facilitate the percolation of run-off through the soil to groundwater. Examples include infiltration basins or trenches, dry wells, and porous pavement.
INLET. An opening into a stormwater drainage system for the entrance of surface stormwater runoff, more completely described as a storm drain inlet.
LAND-DISTURBING ACTIVITY. Any human-made change of the land surface, including removing vegetative cover that exposes the underlying soil, excavating, filling, transporting, and grading.
LAND ENGINEER. A person licensed under the laws of the state to practice land surveying.
LARGER COMMON PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT OR SALE. A plan, undertaken by a single project site owner or a group of project site owners acting in concert, to offer lots for sale or lease; where such land is contiguous, or is known, designated, purchased, or advertised as a common unit or by a common name, such land shall be presumed as being offered for sale or lease as part of a larger common plan. The term also includes phased or other construction activity by a single entity for its own use.
LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE. The elevation of the lowest grade adjacent (abutting) to a structure, where the soil meets the foundation around the outside of the structure (including structural members such as basement walkout, patios, decks, porches, support posts or piers, and rim of the window well).
LOWEST FLOOR. Refers to the lowest of the following:
(1) The top of the basement floor;
(2) The top of the garage floor, if the garage is the lowest level of the building;
(3) The top of the first floor of buildings constructed on a slab or of buildings elevated on pilings or constructed on a crawl space with permanent openings; or
(4) The top of the floor level of any enclosure below an elevated building where the walls of the enclosure provide any resistance to the flow of flood waters unless:
(a) The walls are designed to automatically equalize the hydrostatic flood forces on the walls by allowing for the entry and exit of flood waters, by providing a minimum of two openings (in addition to doorways and windows) having a total area of one square foot for every two square feet of enclosed area subject to flooding. The bottom of all such openings shall be no higher than one foot above grade; and
(b) Such enclosed space shall be usable only for the parking of vehicles or building access.
MANHOLE. Storm drain structure through which a person may enter to gain access to an underground storm drain or enclosed structure.
MEASURABLE STORM EVENT. A precipitation event that results in a total measured precipitation accumulation equal to, or greater than, one-half inch of rainfall.
MULCH. A natural or artificial layer of plant residue or other materials covering the land surface which conserves moisture, holds soil in place, aids in establishing plant cover, and minimizes temperature fluctuations.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM. An MS4 meets all the following criteria:
(1) Is a conveyance or system of conveyances owned by the state, county, city, town, or other public entity;
(2) Discharges to waters of the United States;
(3) Is designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
(4) Is not a combined sewer; and
(5) Is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM. A permit developed by the U.S. EPA through the Clean Water Act. In the state, the permitting process has been delegated to IDEM. This permit covers aspects of municipal stormwater quality.
NATURAL DRAINAGE. The flow patterns of stormwater run-off over the land in its pre-development state.
NUTRIENT(S).
(1) A substance necessary for the growth and reproduction of organisms.
(2) In water, those substances (chiefly nitrates and phosphates) that promote growth of algae and bacteria.
OPEN DRAIN. A natural watercourse or constructed open channel that conveys drainage water.
OPEN SPACE. Any land area devoid of any disturbed or impervious surfaces created by industrial, commercial, residential, agricultural, or other human-made activities.
OUTFALL. The point, location, or structure where a pipe or open drain discharges to a receiving body of water.
OUTLET. The point of water disposal from a stream, river, lake, tidewater, or artificial drain.
PEAK DISCHARGE (or PEAK FLOW). The maximum instantaneous flow from a given storm condition at a specific location.
PERCOLATION. The movement of water through soil.
PERMANENT STABILIZATION. The establishment, at a uniform density of 70% across the disturbed area, of vegetative cover or permanent non-erosive material that will ensure the resistance of the soil to erosion, sliding, or other movement.
PERVIOUS. Allowing movement of water.
POINT SOURCE. Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, or container from which pollutants are or may be discharged (PL 92-500, § 502(14), being 33 U.S.C. § 1362).
POROUS PAVEMENT. A type of infiltration practice to improve the quality and reduce the quantity of stormwater run-off via the use of human-made, pervious pavement which allows run-off to percolate through the pavement and into underlying soils.
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER. A person licensed under the laws of the state to practice professional engineering.
PROJECT SITE. The entire area on which construction activity is to be performed.
PROJECT SITE OWNER. The person required to submit a stormwater permit application, and required to comply with the terms of this chapter, including a developer or a person who has financial and operational control of construction activities, and project plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications.
RAIN GARDEN. A vegetative practice used to alter impervious surfaces, such as roofs, into pervious surfaces for absorption and treatment of rainfall.
RECEIVING STREAM, RECEIVING CHANNEL, or RECEIVING WATER. The body of water into which runoff or effluent is discharged. The term does not include private drains, unnamed conveyances, retention and detention basins, or constructed wetlands used as treatment.
RECHARGE. Replenishment of groundwater reservoirs by infiltration and transmission from the outcrop of an aquifer or from permeable soils.
REDEVELOPMENT. Alterations of a property that change a site or building in such a way that there is disturbance of 10,000 square feet or more of land. The term does not include such activities as exterior remodeling.
REFUELING AREA. An operating gasoline or diesel fueling area whose primary function is to provide fuel to equipment or vehicles.
REGULATORY FLOOD. The discharge or elevation associated with the 100-year flood as calculated by a method and procedure which is acceptable to and accepted by the State Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The REGULATORY FLOOD is also known as the BASE FLOOD.
REGULATORY FLOODWAY. See FLOODWAY.
RELEASE RATE. The amount of stormwater released from a stormwater control facility per unit of time.
RESERVOIR. A natural or artificially created pond, lake, or other space used for storage, regulation, or control of water. May be either permanent or temporary. The term is also used in the hydrologic modeling of storage facilities.
RETENTION. The storage of stormwater to prevent it from leaving the development site. May be temporary or permanent.
RETENTION BASIN. A type of storage practice, that has no positive outlet, used to retain stormwater run-off for an indefinite amount of time. Runoff from this type of basin is removed only by infiltration through a porous bottom or by evaporation.
RETURN PERIOD. The average interval of time within which a given rainfall event will be equaled or exceeded once. A flood having a RETURN PERIOD of 100 years has a 1% probability of being equaled or exceeded in any one year.
RIPARIAN HABITAT. A land area adjacent to a waterbody that supports animal and plant life associated with that waterbody.
RIPARIAN ZONE. Of, on, or pertaining to the banks of a stream, river, or pond.
RUNOFF. The portion of precipitation that flows from a drainage area on the land surface, in open channels, or in stormwater conveyance systems.
RUNOFF COEFFICIENT. A decimal fraction relating the amount of rain which appears as runoff and reaches the stormwater drainage system to the total amount of rain falling. A coefficient of 0.5 implies that 50% of the rain falling on a given surface appears as stormwater runoff.
SEDIMENT. Solid material (both mineral and organic) that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, gravity, or ice and has come to rest on the earth’s surface.
SEDIMENTATION. The process that deposits soils, debris, and other unconsolidated materials either on the ground surfaces or in bodies of water or watercourses.
SENSITIVE WATER. A waterbody in need of priority protection or remediation based on its:
(1) Providing habitat for threatened or endangered species;
(2) Usage as a public water supply intake;
(3) Relevant community value; and
(4) Usage for full body contact recreation;
(5) Exceptional use classification as found in 327 IAC 2-1-11(b), outstanding state resource water classification as found in 327 IAC 2-1.5-18 and 327 IAC 2-1.5-19(b).
SITE. The entire area included in the legal description of the land on which land-disturbing activity is to be performed.
SLOPE. Degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal, measured as a numerical ratio or percent. Expressed as a ratio, the first number is commonly the horizontal distance (run) and the second is the vertical distance (rise) - e.g., 2:1. However, the preferred method for designation of slopes is to clearly identify the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) components (length (L) and width (W) components for horizontal angles). Also note that, according to international standards (metric), the slopes are presented as the vertical or width component shown on the numerator - e.g., 1V:2H. Slope expressions in this subchapter follow the common presentation of slopes - e.g., 2:1 with the metric presentation shown in parenthesis - e.g., (1V:2H). Slopes can also be expressed in “percents”. Slopes given in percents are always expressed as (100*V/H) - e.g., a 2:1 (1V:2H) slope is a 50% slope.
SOIL. The unconsolidated mineral and organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT. A public organization created under state law as a special-purpose district to develop and carry out a program of soil, water, and related resource conservation, use, and development within its boundaries. A subdivision of state government with a local governing body, established under I.C. 14-32.
SOLID WASTE. Any garbage, refuse, debris, or other discarded material.
SPILL. The unexpected, unintended, abnormal, or unapproved dumping, leakage, drainage, seepage, discharge, or other loss of petroleum, hazardous substances, extremely hazardous substances, or objectionable substances. The term does not include releases to impervious surfaces when the substance does not migrate off the surface or penetrate the surface and enter the soil.
STABILIZED. The establishment, at a uniform density of 70% across the disturbed area, of vegetative cover or noninvasive material that will ensure the resistance of the soil to erosion, sliding, or other movement.
STORM DURATION. The length of time that water may be stored in any stormwater control facility, computed from the time water first begins to be stored.
STORM EVENT. An estimate of the expected amount of precipitation within a given period of time. For example, a 10-year frequency, 24-hour duration STORM EVENT is a storm that has a 10% probability of occurring in any one year. Precipitation is measured over a 24-hour period.
STORM SEWER. A closed conduit for conveying collected stormwater, while excluding sewage and industrial wastes. Also called a STORM DRAIN.
STORMWATER. Water resulting from rain, melting or melted snow, hail, or sleet.
STORMWATER DRAINAGE SYSTEM. All means, natural or human-made, used for conducting stormwater to, through, or from a drainage area to any of the following: conduits and appurtenant features, canals, channels, ditches, storage facilities, swales, streams, culverts, streets, and pumping stations.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN. A plan developed to minimize the impact of stormwater pollutants resulting from construction activities.
STORMWATER RUNOFF. The water derived from rains falling within a tributary basin, flowing over the surface of the ground or collected in channels or conduits.
STORMWATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN. A comprehensive written document that addresses stormwater runoff quality.
STORMWATER QUALITY MEASURE. A practice, or a combination of practices, to control or minimize pollutants associated with stormwater runoff.
STORMWATER UTILITY. The city’s stormwater utility, established under this chapter.
STORMWATER UTILITY COORDINATOR. The Stormwater Coordinator or such other individual appointed by the Board to administer and supervise the operation of the stormwater utility.
STRIP DEVELOPMENT. A multi-lot project where building lots front on an existing road.
SUBDIVISION. Any land that is divided or proposed to be divided into lots, whether contiguous or subject to zoning requirements, for the purpose of sale or lease as part of a larger common plan of development or sale.
SUBSURFACE DRAIN. A pervious backfield trench, usually containing stone and perforated pipe, for intercepting groundwater or seepage.
SURFACE RUNOFF. Precipitation that flows onto the surfaces of roofs, streets, the ground, and the like, and is not absorbed or retained by that surface but collects and runs off.
SWALE. An elongated depression in the land surface that is at least seasonally wet, is usually heavily vegetated, and is normally without flowing water. SWALES conduct stormwater into primary drainage channels and may provide some groundwater recharge.
TEMPORARY STABILIZATION. The covering of soil to ensure its resistance to erosion, sliding, or other movement. The term includes vegetative cover, anchored mulch, or other non-erosive material applied at a uniform density of 70% across the disturbed area.
TILE DRAIN. Pipe made of perforated plastic, burned clay, concrete, or similar material, laid to a designed grade and depth, to collect and carry excess water from the soil.
TIMBER HARVESTING. Cutting tree branches and trunks for commercial purposes without disturbing the root system.
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP. Graphical portrayal of the topographic features of a land area, showing both the horizontal distances between the features and their elevations above a given datum.
TOPOGRAPHY. The representation of a portion of the earth’s surface showing natural and human-made features of a given locality such as rivers, streams, ditches, lakes, roads, buildings, and, most importantly, variations in ground elevations for the terrain of the area.
TRAINED INDIVIDUAL. An individual who is trained and experienced in the principles of stormwater quality, including erosion and sediment control as may be demonstrated by state registration, professional certification, experience, or completion of coursework that enable the individual to make judgments regarding stormwater control or treatment and monitoring.
URBAN DRAIN. A drain defined as “Urban Drain” in the state’s Drainage Code.
URBANIZATION. The development, change, or improvement of any parcel of land consisting of one or more lots for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, or public utility purposes.
VEGETATED SWALE. A type of vegetative practice used to filter stormwater runoff via a vegetated, shallow-channel conveyance.
WATER QUALITY. A term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.
WATER RESOURCES. The supply of groundwater and surface water in a given area.
WATERBODY. Any accumulation of water, surface, or underground, natural or artificial, excluding water features designed and designated as water pollution control facilities.
WATERCOURSE. Any river, stream, creek, brook, branch, natural or human-made drainageway in or into which stormwater runoff or floodwaters flow either continuously or intermittently.
WATERSHED. The region drained by or contributing water to a specific point that could be along a stream, lake, or other stormwater facilities. WATERSHEDS are often broken down into subareas for the purpose of hydrologic modeling.
WATERSHED AREA. All land and water within the confines of a drainage divide. See also WATERSHED.
WETLANDS. Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. WETLANDS generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. This definition shall be considered to be automatically amended to conform with the definition of a wetlands established from time to time by the United States of America or United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(Ord. 2006-13, passed 10-26-2006; Ord. 2019-25, passed on 5-13-2020)