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Stormwater Management

When It Rains, It Drains The Clean Water Act is the federal legislation that governs stormwater management. Stormwater point discharges to waters of the U.S. are regulated using National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. In 1999, federal regulations extended coverage of the NPDES program to local separate storm sewer systems (MS4’s) serving populations less than 100,000. Horsham Township is required to comply with the NPDES program as a MS4. Under the NPDES stormwater program, permittees must develop a stormwater management plan that provides the details of how the community (Horsham Township ) will comply with the requirements of the permit. Permits are based on a framework of six minimum control measures:

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Public education and outreach
Public participation and involvement
Illicit discharge detection and elimination
Construction site runoff control
Post-construction storm water management in new development and redevelopment
Pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations and maintenance

More information on this program is available from the Pennsylvania DEP website.

Rain Water Collection Activity

Fact: 1" of rainfall on a 1000 sq. ft. roof will produce 600 gallons of rainwater. To calculate the square footage of your house, you can measure the outside area of the exterior walls. To find area, multiply Length times Width. Using an example of a house that is 50' in length by 35' in width, we would multiply 50' x 35' to equal 1750 sq. ft. Move the decimal point over 3 places to the left to continue the equation.

Since 1" of rain yields 600 gallons on a 1000 sq. ft. roof, we will multiply 600 x 1.75 to determine the quantity of run-off from our example roof. 600 x 1.75 = 1050 gallons.

For every one inch of rainfall, then, approximately 1050 gallons will drain off of the roof.

To determine an annual rooftop yield for a 1000 sq. ft. roof in Montgomery County, we take the average rainfall, determined to be 44.35" according to weather.com, and multiply by 600 gallons. 44.35 x 600 = 26, 610 gallons of rainfall.

How much rainwater can be collected from your roof?

Horsham Towsnhip Discount Rain Barrel Program

Discount Rain Barrel Program These 50 Gallon Rain Barrels are made from used food grade barrels. You can't get much GREENER than that!! Whether your water needs are for plants, gardens, or general use, each barrel is drilled, screened, and fitted for catching water straight from the downspout of your house, garage, or shed. These barrels are designed to be used outdoors, with three overflow connections, a nylon spigot, and a drain plug, and can also be linked together up to 3 barrels per barrel. The barrels have screw on lids, and the overflows are designed to fit any standard garden hose to make it easier to redirect the overflow to where it needs to go. Each barrel has a 50 gallon capacity.

Discount Rain Barrel Program Flyer

Horsham Township Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)

The goals of all MS4s programs and Horsham Township are to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the township, to protect water quality and to satisfy requirements of the Clean Water Act. Horsham Township would like you to remember that the water and any items that go into a storm sewer go directly into streams. This water is not cleaned in any way and does not go to the waste water treatment plant. Horsham Township needs all of its residents to assist us in keeping our storm water and storm water sewer system clean by doing the following: dispose of water properly, clean up after your pets, use fertilizers properly and efficiently to prevent excess runoff and store materials that could pollute storm water indoors. Also, please monitor storm water inlets near your property. No one should dump anything into the storm sewer system. If you see someone dumping please call the township at 215-643-3131. Thank you.

Storm Drain Stenciling:

No Dumping; Drains to Creek Horsham Township has been marking all of the storm drains in the township with the "No Dumping / Drains to Stream" stencils. Horsham Township with the assistance of many volunteers has marked most of the storm drains in the Township. These storm drain stencils educate the public that anything you dump into the storm drain ends up directly in a creek or other public water way. If you would like volunteer and help with storm drain stenciling: check your neighborhood for missing stencils and then call Mark Hudson at 215-672-6913 or e-mail us at stormwater@horsham.org. Let him know the number of stencils you need and he can drop them off to you so that you can put them on.

What Residents can help watch for:

Sediment leaving a construction site in stormwater
Spills (Chemical, Gas, Oil)
Illegal dumping activity into streams or storm sewers (PLEASE CALL 911 FIRST)
Dry weather flows from outfall pipes into streams (72 hours after a rain storm)

Residents may be the first to recognize "illicit" discharges dumping into storm sewers or coming out of from storm sewer outfalls. If you see an "illicit" discharge please report that to the township by one of the following methods:

Call Mark Hudson at 215-672-6913
E-mail: stormwater@horsham.org