Stormwater

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Reporting a Stormwater Problem

If you are looking for assistance with road flooding, plugged road culverts, cleaning of storm drains, other "maintenance" type issues, or you want to report illegal discharges of oil, sediment, garbage, or other pollutants into surface waters or stormwater facilities, please call our Hotline number. To report an issue after normal business hours, please call the non-emergency dispatch (after hours) number.

Contact Numbers for Multijurisdictional Spills

Spills that are hazardous or cannot be controlled, call 911

Spills that reach, or are tracked into another jurisdiction:

Walla Walla County Dispatch: 509-527-1960. They will call the correct Road Supervisor.

Tom White – Road Foreman, Walla Walla | Direct 509-524-2735, Cell 509-730-1345
Marty Eastman – Road Foreman, Waitsburg | Direct 509-524-2707, Cell 509-629-0539 After Hours 509-524-51393
Chuck Geissel – Public Works Technician III | Direct 509-524-2729, Cell 509-240-6467
Joy Bader – Public Works Technician IV | Direct 509-524-2733, Cell 509-540-1992

City of Walla Walla: On call number 509-540-2680

Jason Mings – Street Supervisor | Direct 509-524-4530
Travis Rakestraw – Street Stormwater Lead | Cell 509-730-7712
Dara Osborne – Stormwater Coordinator |Direct 509-524-4669, Cell 509-540-6565

City of College Place: On-Call number 509-520-1828

Cameron Clark – Public Works Foreman | Cell 509-520-7197
Wade Antle – Public Works Ops. Manager | Cell 509-394-8650
Laurencio Cota – Stormwater Coordinator | Cell 509-876-1340

WSDOT

Steve Underwood – Maintenance Supervisor, Area 4 | Cell 509-520-1352
Brad Johnson – Lead Technician, Area 4 | Cell 509-378-1105

Ecology Regional Office Spokane, WA; 509-329-3400. Spills that reach a waterway or storm drain
ECY Washington State Emergency Management; 1-800-258-5990. Spills that reach a waterway

General Information

Business Information

Designer and Developer Information

Construction Contractor Information

Regulations

Regulations pertaining to the Stormwater Utility and Stormwater Program are contained in the City of Walla Walla Municipal Code by subject as listed below:

Stormwater Utility Regulations and Rates
Chapter 13.06
Illicit Discharge, Detection and Elimination
Chapter 13.15
Construction and Post-Construction
Chapter 13.16

NPDES Phase II Permit

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is a permit program established by the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 to regulate point source discharges of water pollution. Because impairment of so many of America's waterways was linked to polluted stormwater runoff, Congress amended the CWA in 1987 to also establish NPDES requirements for stormwater discharges.

Currently, there are three main types of NPDES stormwater permits: Construction, Industrial, and Municipal. All require planning and active management of stormwater using best management practices (BMPs).

The City of Walla Walla received an initial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit in 2007 and was issued a new permit in August 2012. In the State of Washington, NPDES permits are issued by the Department of Ecology (DOE) in accordance with EPA regulations.

The City of Walla Walla developed and implemented a Stormwater Management Program as described below In order to reduce the discharge of pollutants to surface and groundwater.

Stormwater Management Program

Under the Permit, the City of Walla Walla is required to implement a Stormwater Management Program consisting of tasks associated with six minimum control measures:

Public education and outreach
Public involvement and participation
Illicit discharge, detection and elimination
Construction site runoff control
Post-construction stormwater management for new development and redevelopment
Pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations.

Stormwater Management Documents

2015 Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan Prepared August 2019
2022 Stormwater Annual Report
Prepared March 2024
2023 Stormwater Annual Report Prepared March 2024
2024 Stormwater Management Program Plan Prepared March 2024
Eastern Washington Low Impact Development Guidance Manual Prepared June 2013
Washington Department of Commerce LID Guidebook
Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Program Manual
Prepared August 2011
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for Municipal Operations
Prepared July 2011
Operations and Maintenance Plan
Prepared July 2011
Guidance for UIC Wells that Manage Stormwater
Prepared February 2019
Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington
Prepared August 2019
Rainwater Collection for Stormwater Management

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Contact

Public Works Department
55 E. Moore Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Phone: 509.527.4363
Fax: 509.524.7977

Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Flooding and Maintenance
Jason Mings
Streets Supervisor
jmings@wallawallawa.gov

Stormwater Program
Dara Osborne
Stormwater Coordinator
dcosborne @wallawallawa.gov

Hotline Number
509.527.4363

After Hours Number
509.527.1960

Training Opportunities

Construction Site Runoff Controls

Low Impact Development

Resources

Best Management Practices for Good Housekeeping

Website for Washington Department of Ecology Stormwater

FAQ Box

How are Stormwater fees calculated?

Residential single family homes, duplexes and triplexes are charged a flat fee per unit per month. Non-residential properties are charged based on the amount of impervious surface (hard surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, parking lots, gravel parking and storage areas and any other areas where natural vegetation has been disturbed for parking, driving or storage) on the parcel. Impervious surface is calculated by either on-site measurement or by using the City’s most recent GIS orthophotography for every parcel located within the city limits.

Monthly stormwater fees are based on an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) measurement. Parcels with drainage characteristics of a single-family residential property receive a flat rate of 1 ERU. The average single-family residential parcel in Walla Walla is assumed to be 3,000 square feet of impervious surface. Therefore, the definition of 1 ERU is the amount of impervious surface equal to 3,000 square feet.

Monthly stormwater fees for non-residential parcels that are occupied by businesses, industries, farms, apartment buildings, mobile home parks and other non-residential land uses are calculated based on the amount of impervious surface that exists on each parcel. For example, if a commercial business on a parcel has 12,000 square feet of impervious surface area, the monthly charge will be based on 12,000 square feet divided by 3,000 square feet/ERU which equals 4 ERUs.
Why am I charged a Stormwater fee?
The City of Walla Walla is subject to a myriad of federal and state surface water, groundwater, water quality and habitat related requirements, such as:
- National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit, as required by the Clean Water Act (CWA);
- Underground Injection Control (UIC) Rule, as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA); and
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) and associated Salmon Recovery Plan and Sub-basin Plan for Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) #32.
The NPDES Phase II Permit outlines stormwater program activities and implementation milestones that permittees must follow to comply with the federal CWA.

The Phase II Permit is broken down into six components, and the implementation and enforcement of the six components is collectively referred to as a municipality’s Stormwater Management Plan. The revenue collected from monthly Stormwater fees is used by the City to pay for the costs that the City incurs to maintain and operate its municipal stormwater system and stay in compliance with the Phase II Permit. Activities that Stormwater fees are used for include water quality protection and clean-up activities, educational activities, storm drainage construction and maintenance activities and the implementation of a Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP).

The SWMP is designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from municipalities to the maximum extent practicable to satisfy the state requirement to apply “All Known, Available and Reasonable methods of prevention, control and Treatment” prior to discharge, and to protect water quality in our creeks and rivers. The Phase II Permit requires that specific activities from each category above be completed each year in order to achieve full permit compliance.

To this effect, in 2001, a stormwater fee was placed on all properties within the city of Walla Walla. Stormwater management in the unincorporated areas is the responsibility of Walla Walla County.
Why is a Stormwater Utility needed?
The City’s stormwater program helps address flooding and pollution of surface and ground water sources. Many of the current programs are mandated by Federal and State regulations. The City is currently required to comply with the requirements of a State of Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) permit. Information on this permit can be found at this DOE web page.

Continuing programs that are required to maintain the stormwater infrastructure and to stay in compliance with the requirements of the Department of Ecology permit necessitates a dedicated revenue source that does not compete with other City services such as Police and Fire.

The primary purpose of the stormwater utility is to fund activities required by the DOE National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit such as:
1. Implementing a program for public education and outreach – distributing educational materials to the community about the impacts of stormwater and what they can do to help.
2. Implementing a program for public involvement and participation – allow for the public to have input on the stormwater management program.
3. Develop a program for detecting and eliminating illicit discharges – includes planning, inspection, and enforcement actions.
4. Developing runoff controls for new construction sites.
5. Developing runoff controls for new development – ongoing programs to ensure that controls that minimize water quality impacts are in place.
6. Pollution prevention and good housekeeping programs for municipal operations – train staff and implement measures that minimize pollutant runoff from municipal operations.
7. Record keeping and reporting – The DOE permit requires the City to keep records of our stormwater management activities, and prepare and submit a regular annual report.
8. Pay for the DOE permit fee.
9. Pay for regular maintenance such as street sweeping, cleaning catch basins, and jetting pipes.
10. Fund stormwater capital projects such as culvert replacements, and water quality improvements.

More FAQs