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| WMS is responsible for administration of the Municipality’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, Municipal watershed management planning, storm water site plan reviews, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood hazard plan reviews. In addition, WMS, a division of the Department of Project Management and Engineering (PM&E), is assigned specific Municipal corporate responsibilities, including mapping of Municipal receiving waters and drainage systems, and research and development of design guidance for storm water runoff and drainage controls.
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| WMS maintains a number of continuing programs that support long-term Municipal storm water management business functions and obligations. |
NPDES Program
The Municipality is permitted to discharge storm water from its storm drainage systems to U.S. waters under an EPA-administered NPDES permit. To maintain this permit the Municipality is obligated to provide specific storm water systems information and meet particular performance constraints. Under this program element the WMS performs work to meet the Municipality’s NPDES storm water permit requirements or coordinates this work where it is performed by other Municipal agencies. |
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Watershed Management Program
Implementation of a ‘watershed management program’ is a required element of the NPDES municipal storm water management regulations. Using a whole-system approach, this program addresses application of watershed, drainage, and receiving waters information to planning and implementation of ‘best management practices’ to control impacts on receiving waters from storm water discharge. |
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Flood Hazard (FEMA) Program
The Municipality locally administers the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance program that forms the foundation for the availability of nationally-based community flood insurance in Anchorage. WMS performs work under this program to update and distribute flood hazard mapping information in a variety of formats and to review, regulate, track and report plans for construction within or near flood hazard zones. |
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Storm Water Systems Research and Assessment
Under its NPDES storm water permit WMS is responsible for continuing research, assessment, development and selection of controls appropriate for cold regions urban storm water management. Technically defensible, effective and practicable system approaches to assessing and developing practices to manage the complete range of Anchorage storm water problems are best assured when this work is integrated within a single WMS program.
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Land Development Storm Water Controls Program
Control of storm water runoff from on-going development and construction projects and application of sound post-construction storm water controls is a basic element in the Municipality’s NPDES storm water permit. This WMS business function administers and performs plan reviews, inspections, and enforcement and provides educational services required to implement this program. |
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Public Education
The WMS is required under its permitting structures to distribute information developed either under its management programs or through its general watershed mapping and Best Management Practices research to the public at large. This WMS business function performs work to package information (typically developed under other WMS programs and work efforts) and deliver it through a variety of media for use in training and public education. |
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Hydrography and Drainage Mapping
WMS has corporate responsibility for providing continuing mapping of all Municipal hydrography, including base map and feature data required to support FEMA flood hazard mapping and general Municipal drainage planning and design. Map views and published atlas products are also prepared under this business function, typically as a client service to other WMS programs and for distribution to other MOA agencies and the public. (Library>Maps link here) |
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Information Archive and Distribution
Work under this business function develops logical data structures integrated across all WMS and MOA business functions, sets standards for WMS data and document submittal and archive, and provides the underlying system infrastructure required to provide rapid, reliable and secure access to this information for WMS, other MOA agencies, and the public. |
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