Summer may be a few weeks away, but stormwater utility staff are well into their annual maintenance program. Every year stormwater service division staff clean and inspect storm drains and drainage pipes throughout the City. This work is performed to remove the sediment and other debris that has collected within the drainage system. Regular cleaning of the system reduces the chances that the drainage infrastructure will plug and cause flooding. The collected material also contains pollutants. Removal and proper disposal prevents these pollutants from getting resuspended and discharged to our local streams and Lake Champlain during large storm events. On average, the stormwater maintenance crew cleans about 430 storm drains and removes 89 cubic yards of collected material each year.
The South Burlington Stormwater Utility currently maintains 84 Stormwater Treatment Practices (STPs) throughout the City. These STPs range in size from large detention ponds and treatment wetlands to small bio-retention areas and underground filters. The crew uses a variety of equipment to conduct maintenance including excavators, dump trucks, vacuum trucks, street sweepers, and a variety of lawn mowers. The crew recently acquired a remote control lawnmower. This mower is on tracks and allows the crew to mow steep slopes quickly and safely.