As the City of Kenosha embarked on a comprehensive analysis of their storm water infrastructure from both flood control and water quality perspectives, the City was hit with back-to-back intense rainfall events in July of 2017 that resulted in significant local and regional flooding. The immediate public health and safety concerns tied to this flooding event doubled down the City’s efforts to simultaneously develop a long-term plan for the future, while also quickly addressing some of the most pressing concerns.
MS4. TMDL. NPDES. These acronyms (and many more) can sometimes make complying with municipal storm water regulations seem like an exercise in alphabet soup more than anything else. A variety of recent advances in ways of thinking and technology can simplify regulatory compliance.
Developing and analyzing data sets showing the relationship between land use and location efficiency can be a difficult and expensive process. In response to this issue, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed three tools that analyze the land use and transit accessibility of metropolitan neighborhoods in the United States: Smart Location Database, Access to Jobs and Workers Via Transit Tool, and National Walkability Index.
In the summer of 2016, the Village of Brown Deer contacted Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) for assistance in developing an urban forestry project that would be strong enough to meet the application needs of the DNR's Urban Forestry Grant.
The Village of Fox Point obtained an Urban Nonpoint Source Planning Grant from the Wisconsin DNR to update the Village's storm water management plan, emphasizing water quality modeling, updating ordinances, and evaluating Milwaukee River TMDL requirements. The Village selected Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) in part due to their comprehensive storm water experience and capabilities in order to fully utilize the grant funding.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be your one stop for filing and retrieval of your MS4 and TMDL records. Permit compliance activities can be simplified by tracking multiple project sites and related records through GIS.
