New federal

regulations are requiring Peachtree City to expand its storm water management

program over the next several years.

Meeting the

new regulations by 2008 will cost an estimated $5.9 million over the next

five years, at an average of $924,000 each year. The city currently spends

$355,000 on stormwater management activities, mostly for repairs, maintenance,

equipment, inspection and personnel.

It's likely

that the city's Water and Sewerage Authority will take over the stormwater

management program since much of the equipment and facilities needed is

already owned by WASA to use for the sanitary sewer system. Also, City

Engineer Troy Besseche pointed out in a memo to the City Council that

WASA could make the quickest transition into handling the increased duties.

Giving the

task to WASA would also be beneficial since WASA can handle billing customers

and WASA employees can be shifted to the storm water system to handle

extreme storm events, Besseche said.

To enable WASA

to handle the new storm water duties, its enabling legislation will have

to be changed promptly, Besseche wrote.

WASA has recently

discussed taking the storm water system over for the city in light of

the new regulations.

The federal

Environmental Protection Agency is requiring that Peachtree City implement

a program that can detect and eliminate illicit discharge along with getting

educating and encouraging participation from the public.

Another focus

of the regulations is preventing pollution from entering the storm water

system and focusing on controlling storm water runoff from construction

sites.

Peachtree City

must obtain its new stormwater management permit by March 10, 2003, and

it must be in full compliance by March 10, 2008. To reach that goal, the

city must take a complete inventory of all curbs, culverts, stormwater

manholes, conveyance structures and drainage easements.

The city must

also develop a comprehensive stormwater management plan to help guide

the new program, Besseche noted.

The EPA contends

that 40 percent of surveyed waterbodies in the U.S. do not meet water

quality standards, and a leading source of that problem is polluted stormwater

runoff.