The City of Bellingham Public Works Department has completed work on an update to the 1995 Watershed Master Plan, which has been renamed to the 2007 Stormwater Comprehensive Plan.
It is important that this guiding document be updated from time to time to reflect the current state of stormwater in the City. In accordance with Bellingham Municipal Code 15.42.050.A and the capital work plan for the City, this update was financed and completed in December, 2007.
The City's 1995 plan continues to be a useful part of the new Comprehensive Plan. The work done under the new plan focused on the provision of a new integrated stormwater modeling system. This system was needed to meet the new regulatory requirements that the City passed in 2006, along with our Municipal Phase II NPDES permit, that came into effect February 2007. Specifically, this system works with the City's geographic information system (GIS) by melding the information we maintain on land use, impervious surfaces, vegetation, soils, rainfall and our stormwater systems (including our creeks) to provide runoff information. This system paints a much more accurate picture of our current stormwater system and issues such as erosion, flooding and needed system improvements. This system also provides the city and development engineers better information to integrate into site planning. The 2007 Stormwater Comprehensive Plan is a dynamic tool that is intended to evolve as more data becomes available, therefore providing new and better information for years to come.
