Maintenance

Why is maintenance important?

Insufficient maintenance of stormwater control facilities can lead to poor performance, shortened life, increased maintenance and replacement costs, and property damage.

Who is responsible for maintenance?

The local jurisdiction maintains the stormwater system structures located within the public road right of way and structures located within border easements that serve public road runoff, unless a separate agreement exists whereby the homeowner, property owner or other independent entity is responsible for the maintenance. Drainage tracts created by public projects will be maintained by the local jurisdiction.
The project proponent is to provide for the perpetual maintenance of all elements of the stormwater system located outside the public right of way. The high-frequency maintenance of vegetated cover, turf grass and other landscaping within the public right of way and within border easements that accommodate public runoff is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. When applicable, the following maintenance related items shall be submitted with the Drainage Submittal for all projects:

  • A copy of the conditions, covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs) for the homeowners’ association (HOA) in charge of operating and maintaining all elements of the stormwater system;
  • A financial plan outlining the funding mechanism for the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of the private stormwater system, including contingencies; and,
  • An Operations and Maintenance Manual.

What is an operations and maintenance manual?

The O&M Manual summarizes the tasks required to ensure the proper operation of all facilities associated with the stormwater system and must include, as a minimum:

  • Description of the entity responsible for the perpetual maintenance of all facilities associated with the stormwater system, including legal means of successorship;
  • Description of maintenance tasks to be performed and their frequency;
  • A list of the expected design life and replacement schedule of each component of the stormwater system;
  • A general site plan (drawn to scale) showing the overall layout of the site and all the facilities associated with the stormwater system; and,
  • A description of the source control BMPs.