Stormwater

Public Works Director Jay Harris and Administrative Manager Brooke Kilts presented information on the stormwater utility at the April 2021 virtual Spotlight Shelton.

Report a Stormwater Issue Online

The stormwater division works on multiple levels to protect water quality and prevent flooding. This involves working together with residents, businesses, and other government agencies to maintain a safe and healthy environment for people and wildlife.

Public Works staff maintain miles of underground pipe, storm drains, and stormwater ponds that carry stormwater runoff from roads and rooftops to our streams, Oakland Bay, and Hammersley Inlet. We monitor these bodies of water and initiate new ways to protect them through our education and outreach programs, technical assistance, and new regulations.

What is Stormwater?
Stormwater starts as just regular rainwater, but as it runs off of roofs, through yards, down driveways, or any other impervious surface (a surface that effectively keeps snow melt and stormwater from soaking into the ground), the water can pick up pollutants like dirt, trash, animal waste, oil, gas, fertilizers, pesticides, metals and other materials in its path. 

Stormwater then flows, untreated, directly into our streams, lakes, and rivers - the same bodies of water we use for swimming, boating, fishing, and shellfish harvesting.

Responsibilities
The stormwater division is responsible for:

• Drain cleaning
• Ditch and culvert maintenance
• Flood control
• Storm drainage infrastructure maintenance

Your Stormwater System, By the Numbers
The City's stormwater system is comprised of:

• 158,400 linear feet of stormwater piping
• 42,240 linear feet of roadside ditches
• 191 storm drain manholes
• 1,950 storm drain grates

Public Works Emergencies
Need to talk to someone ASAP? In the event of an emergency during business hours, please call Public Works directly at 360-426-6442 to report the incident. After hours, please call MACECOM at 360-426-4441.

Examples of Public Works incidents worth reporting include (but aren't limited to) serious water leaks, fallen trees in a roadway, sewage backing up into a household or business, water across a roadway or flooding buildings, hazardous material spills on a roadway, or dangerous street conditions (sinkholes, potholes, etc.). 

Public Information and Outreach
We have partnered with the Mason Conservation District to provide stormwater public information and outreach programs to our community. Programs include planting urban trees, installing rain gardens and providing general assistance to property owners on how to improve their homes while protecting our watersheds.

Stormwater Information
Washington State Department of Ecology

• Washington State Department of Ecology - Construction Stormwater Permit
• Washington State Department of Ecology - Industrial Stormwater Permit
• Washington State Department of Ecology - UIC Registration Requirements and Information

City of Shelton

• Stormwater Rate & Fee Update Brochure
• Spotlight Shelton Stormwater 101 Presentation Slides
• Car Washing Facts

General

• Clark County, WA - "Stormwater Management: The Basics"
• CBS This Morning - "Stormwater runoff carries toxins, raw sewage into waterways"

Stormwater NPDES Phase II Permit Documents

• Shelton 2024 Stormwater Management Plan
• Annual Report