Maintenance & Compliance

Closed-circuit television, or CCTV, drainage inspection has become one of the most effective tools available to municipalities for understanding the true condition of their buried stormwater infrastructure. Unlike surface inspections, which can only reveal limited information, CCTV inspections provi…

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, compliance is built on documentation. Whether you are demonstrating outfall inspections, tracking illicit discharge investigations, or verifying maintenance activities, a well-organized photo-log can be one of the most effective and defensible tools in …

Infiltration-based best management practices, or BMPs, are designed to capture, store, and gradually infiltrate stormwater into the ground. These systems, which include bioretention basins, infiltration trenches, dry wells, and porous pavement systems, are particularly vulnerable during and immediat…

Culverts are often out of sight and, as a result, out of mind, until they fail. When they do fail, the consequences can range from nuisance flooding to full roadway washouts. One of the most overlooked factors in culvert performance is vegetation management. Too little control can obstruct flow and …

Culverts are among the most overlooked pieces of municipal infrastructure, yet they play a critical role in keeping roads passable and communities safe from flooding. When a culvert fails, the results can be immediate and costly: road washouts, property damage, and emergency closures. That is why re…

When a culvert begins to corrode, crack, or separate at the joints, engineers and highway departments often face a choice between excavating the old pipe and installing a new one or rehabilitating the existing structure in place. Slip-lining is the most widely used trenchless rehabilitation techniqu…

(In the photo above, the silt fence has been improperly installed, as you can see it was placed in loose, already excavated, soil.) Why Construction Runoff Matters A single acre of bare earth can release 10 - 20 times more sediment than the same acre in cropland, and up to 2,000 times more than a fo…

Why this matters Every MS4 audit, whether it’s a quick screening or a multi-day deep dive, starts with one question: “Show me the records.” Communities that can put the right document on the table (or screen) in seconds walk away with clean reports and lower stress; those that scra…

What Changed & Why It Matters for Your Stormwater Program Why new MS4 rules landed in 2025 EPA’s 2015 NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (the “e-Rule”) postponed many Phase II requirements to give states time to build electronic portals. That grace period ends 21 December 2025, so…

Proper inspection and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure, especially catch basins and culverts, is vital to ensure effective drainage performance, prevent flooding, and comply with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) regulations. These structures are often the first and most visible co…