About Stormwater
This charge is billed on behalf of the City of Brainerd. The revenue collected for this charge is used to maintain and improve the existing stormwater drainage system for impervious surfaces (where stormwater cannot penetrate into the ground). Residential customers are charged a $5.30 monthly fee and commercial customers are charged according to the amount of impervious surface their property has.
Stormwater is the flow of water that results from precipitation and which occurs immediately following rainfall or as a result of snowmelt. When a rainfall event occurs, several things can happen to the precipitation. Some of the precipitation infiltrates into the soil surface, some is taken up by plants and some is evaporated into the atmosphere. Stormwater is the rest of the precipitation that runs off land surfaces and impervious (incapable of being penetrated) areas.
Stormwater discharges are generated by precipitation and runoff from land, pavements, building rooftops and other surfaces. These hardened surfaces are ‘impervious surfaces’ and they do not allow rainfall to infiltrate into the soil surface like natural vegetation, so more of the rainfall becomes stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff accumulates pollutants such as oil and grease, chemical, nutrients, metals, and bacteria as it travels across land. Heavy precipitation or snowmelt can also cause sewer overflows that may contaminate water sources with untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and other debris.
For any questions regarding stormwater, please call the City Engineer’s Office at 218-828-2307.
Why Be Concerned About Stormwater?
Stormwater runoff can have a number of impacts. As development and imperviousness increase in an area, the natural capacity of the soil and vegetation to infiltrate and take up rainfall decreases, and more rainfall becomes stormwater runoff. This can produce negative impacts by causing erosion of land areas and stream banks, by causing or increasing flooding and also by carrying pollutants to surface waters. As a community grows, development increases. When more houses, roads and businesses are constructed, water has nowhere to go and can cause serious drainage, pollutant, and sanitation.
View PFAS & Biosolids Frequently Asked Questions
