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The City of Avondale is participating in a National Pollution Discharge Elimination (NPDES) program and has obtained a stormwater permit through the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) in order to operate a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4). There are six (6) minimum control measures (MCMs) that address the requirements of the permit and are outlined in the City’s Stormwater Management Pollution Plan (SWMP). To ensure that the City meets all federal and state regulations, the City has adopted ordinances which address stormwater quality and quantity control.
The City’s permit is comprehensive and covers public education and outreach, good housekeeping, illicit stormwater discharges, and erosion and sediment control through Best Management Practices (BMPs). Through the implementation of the City’s NPDES Permit, pollutants are prevented from entering the City’s stormwater conveyance system and ultimately into surface waters and groundwater. Typical stormwater pollutants can be lawn fertilizers, household detergents or even pet waste, sediment, gas and oils, and hazardous chemicals.
Additionally, to ensure a safe water resource, the City is working on a well-head protection program which will attempt to minimize the introduction of pollutants, which are dumped down the storm drains and drywells which infiltrates into the groundwater; groundwater is currently the City’s water resource. Examples of typical industrial stormwater pollutants that may require additional BMPs are automotive repair businesses, gasoline stations, and metal finishers.
Although the City’s NPDES program is concerned predominantly with water pollution prevention practices, many of these ideas and concepts can apply easily to air and solid waste pollution prevention.
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