Streets & Drainage Maintenance

What is the purpose of stormwater management?

The Streets & Drainage Maintenance Division is responsible for maintaining the streets and drainage infrastructure of the City of Santa Fe. The tasks include snow removal, concrete construction, grading, sweeping, pavement maintenance, engineering/inspection, drainage maintenance, and administration.

In compliance with the provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act, the City of Santa Fe must obtain federal authorization to discharge pollutants into the waters of the United States via our storm sewer system. To qualify for the NPDES permits necessary, we must implement a plan to reduce and control the pollutants carried into these waters. The Stormwater Management Division is responsible for implementing the City of Santa Fe Stormwater Management Plan and for enforcing city and state ordinances and regulations relative to stormwater pollution and management.

Street Programs include:

• Street-cut excavation inspections
• Maintenance projects inspections

Streets & Drainage include:

• Construction concrete
• Grading maintenance
• Drainage maintenance
• Sweeping maintenance
• Pavement maintenance
• Snow removal
• Pet waste brochure Santa Fe [PDF]
• Santa Fe Bottoms Up Flyer [PDF]
• Scoop-the-Poop Video 

The Santa Fe Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit Program

Stormwater runoff is a leading source of water pollution. As stormwater runoff flows to the storm drain system, it flows over land and impervious areas, including sidewalks, streets, driveways, and parking lots picking up pollutants left on the ground, such as oils, trash, and pet waste. This runoff flows into our arroyos and eventually into the Santa Fe River, which can harm the waterways, discouraging recreational use of the resource, contaminating drinking water supplies, and interfering with the habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms, and wildlife.

In 1972, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or the Clean Water Act, to restore and maintain the quality of the nation’s waterways. The ultimate goal was to ensure that rivers and streams were fishable, swimmable, and drinkable.

As part of the Clean Water Act, in 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit Program under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater program. The MS4 program requires permittees to implement a stormwater management program to control polluted stormwater discharges. The Phase I MS4 program affected urbanized areas, as defined by the US Census Bureau, with populations of 100,000 or greater. In NM, only the Albuquerque area qualified under this criteria. In 1999, EPA expanded the program to Phase II, which included urbanized locations with populations between 50,000 to 100,000. The current Phase II Permit was issued in 2007, and a new Permit is expected later this year. The Santa Fe urbanized area is covered under Phase II of the MS4 permit program. The permittees include the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, and the NM Department of Transportation District 5.

Under the MS4 Permit, each permittee must develop and implement a comprehensive Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP). The SWWP currently consists of six program components known as minimum control measures (MCMs) that must be implemented.

Public Education & Outreach
Public Involvement/Participation
Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control
Post-Construction Storm Water Management
Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping

The SWMP includes pollution prevention measures, a stormwater ordinance, inspections and enforcement, and other methods to control the discharge of pollutants from stormwater to our waterways. The Santa Fe permittees are working cooperatively to meet the requirements of the MS4 Permit and to minimize the pollution our stormwater runoff carries to our channels.

This web page includes links to documents and information that are part of the Santa Fe MS4’s efforts to minimize pollution from stormwater runoff.

Related Links

Arroyo Improvement Projects General Obligation Bond 2013 »

Learn more about the Streets & Drainage Maintenance Division.»