| 316 W. Commerce St. | Hernando, Mississippi | 38632 | 662-429-4414 | fax 429-0952 |  |
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Stormwater: Problem or Opportunity?
by Mike Caples, Butler Snow O'Mara Stevens & Cannada
DeSoto County is a rapidly developing community; growth presents many opportunities to maintain a balance between the environment and the ever expanding community. However, the time to strike this important balance is before extensive development occurs.
We need to stop viewing stormwater management as a problem and start looking at it as an opportunity or a community asset. By viewing stormwater as an opportunity, DeSoto County can address the damaging effects of stormwater runoff. In the process, DeSoto County will encourage more environmentally sensitive development and create amenities which will not only address stormwater issues, but will also serve as significant community assets.
Quality of life issues have to be part of the larger, bigger plan. Rather than collect stormwater in a detention pond on the development site, we utilize the vegetation and natural features of the development site to begin treating the stormwater. Individual detention ponds are replaced by natural swales and channels to carry the water to detention facilities shared by a number of developments. These detention basins will act as a primary treatment removing trash and a majority of the silt. Because the detention basin will be dry most of time so that they can be used for sports fields, parks and trails. Water from these basins will be carried to regional retention facilities or lake by riparian greenways.
Riparian greenways are existing streams with green space along each side. They allow stormwater to flow naturally without obstruction while removing containments in the water using natural vegetation. Along the streams, trails will be built so citizens can enjoy the water and protected wildlife habitat. The greenways include connecting a basin-wide system, amenities like parks and trails and restoring above ground stream ways, smart growth planning around these features, getting rid of eyesores and flooding restrictions by using large catch basins. The use of sports fields, lakes and walking trials are not only recreational assets but can be designed as a natural stormwater management systems used to clean the water and slow its flow into streams. The use of greenways approach which connects a series of above ground features will result in the creation of a fewer bigger ponds instead of the current approach where everyone has a pond.
Stormwater does not know or care if it is in Southaven, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Hernando, Walls or the County. All stormwater knows is that it needs to run down hill and it needs space and time to get there.
What the person at the top of the hill does to quickly move water off of its property has a dramatic impact on how the next property has to deal with not only his water but now his neighbors water. Encroachments into a channel or floodplain can dam, divert, or displace flood waters. Ultimately, the stormwater hits a point at which the water can no longer move, the result is a flood.
The regional approach provides an opportunity to collectively measure and evaluate the quality of services delivered to the citizens of DeSoto County. Combining the technical expertise, leadership and resources of regional approach will promote managing issues relating to flooding and stormwater runoff by watershed, rather than municipal boundaries.
Working together with the Cities, a Regional Approach will:
- Reduce unnecessary duplication among public agencies
- Apply public manpower and financial resources more effectively through coordination
- Coordinate planning and capital improvements programs to reduce the threat and impact of flooding and heavy rain events
- Produce hydraulics and hydrology models and flood plain maps and keep them updated
- Prioritize projects based upon technical merit and benefits provided to the community
- Collect and analyze data on flood and storm waster flow to enhance flood warning, water quality and land use planning
- Standardize design, maintenance and operations for flood control and water quality projects and programs
- Integrate activities to comply with federal and state requirements and promote unified approach to seeking state and federal funding for flood control projects
- Create a coordinated public communication, education and public participation program
- Allow for undertaking of new projects and to enhance existing programs
- Provide relief for municipal staffs and city and county budgets that will be forced to comply with federal law
- Establish a collaborative governance structure involving elected officials and professional staff from each entity and citizens