City Council Address Stormwater Issues

by Jim Antell, Mayor

City Council has begun to study the serious drainage problems that Milford will face in the near future. The City Engineer has begun the preparation of a Master Plan of Storm Sewer Systems to improve storm sewer infrastructure in the city. The US EPA and Ohio EPA have given the City until March 2003, to apply for a permit to discharge its stormwater into the Little Miami River and the East Fork of the Little Miami River while implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs). This unfunded EPA Federal mandate is part of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) of the Clean Water Act. The deadline for this mandate must be met.

Since the 1990's, all new streets in the City of Milford have been constructed with stormwater collection and runoff in mind. Catch basins and vertical curbs carry runoff away from private property, diverting it to various discharge points along various watercourses. The major problem is that this runoff includes the collection of pollutants that lay on the roadway, such as salts, oils, gasoline, fertilizers, etc. The EPA requires all jurisdictions to locate all points of stormwater discharge. Eventually they will require sampling and measurements of all pollutants entering the waterways. Public education is a major component for compliance to reduce stream pollution. The operation and maintenance of our stormwater system must be documented.

To begin to implement Milford's stormwater Master Plan and to address this mandatory EPA program, City Council assembled a Stormwater Advisory Committee, comprised of citizens and business representatives who have been meeting since late spring of 2002 to study this issue in more detail.

The creation of a stormwater management utility, along with the collection of a stormwater service charge to fund this mandated program, has been recommended by a local engineering consultant experienced with stormwater programs. The criteria for the recommended stormwater service charge includes equity, balance of rates with level of service, and data requirements. Upon recommendation by the consultant, City Council is considering that residential single-family properties will be charged flat rates, anticipated at less than $6 a month. The fee for commercial properties would be calculated based upon square footage and intensity of development.

Milford City Council will provide more detailed information as we move through the development of a Stormwater Utility Department and the EPA stormwater plan. A public meeting to explain the residential charges has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2003, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. For more information and to access stormwater fact sheets, please visit the City website at www.milfordohio.org .

Bear Trap Gifts Celebrates its Platinum Anniversary

Bear Trap Gifts, located at 209 Main Street, is celebrating 20 years in business. Plush and resin bears from Boyd's Bears are a large part of the store. They also carry Willow Tree Angels and candles from Yankee and Swan Creek. For the year 2003, Bear Trap Gifts will feature the Ohio Bicentennial Barns from Cats Meow, including replicas from Clermont and Hamilton County. For more information please call 248-0426.