Community outreach and public information, play a vital role in the success of the Stormwater Program.  Providing knowledge to our residents, businesses and visitors to the pristine environment here in Palm Bay fostering stewardship in preserving these assets. Since the stormwater collected in the streets and catch basins flow untreated to our waterways, it is vital to prevent pollution at the source. Waterways become polluted when pollutants such as used motor oil, antifreeze, paints, fertilizers, pet waste, soapy water, and pesticides, are washed into the storm drains. It is the number one source of pollution in our nation’s urban waters today. Storm drains were designed to collect only rain and clean water runoff to prevent flooding during storms.

Never dispose of leaves, grass clippings, trash, oil, paint, chlorinated (pool) water, or any other type of pollutant into the gutters or street catch basins. Rake the leaves, dirt, and debris from the gutter in front of your home to help prevent clogs that can lead to flooding. Never place filters or screens in front of storm drains as this can lead to clogs and increased flooding.

What are swales?

Swales are those grassed shallow channels outside of homes and businesses along most streets in the City. They are an excellent pollution-removing and stormwater conveying part of the City’s MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System).

How do they work?

• They transport water from the point of origin to an outfall, a canal, wetland, pond etc.
• They allow sediments and pollutants to settle out of stormwater while infiltrating into the earth.
• They re-charge our groundwater table while allowing cleaner water to flow to the outfalls

Swales that are overburdened by sediment from construction sites become silted-up, and are unable to allow water to percolate causing more and more polluted stormwater to enter our waterways.

As a builder, contractor, or landowner in the City of Palm Bay there are steps that you need to follow to protect our water and other environmental resources. Below is a list of City Departments and other agencies that are considered the first step in the process of responsible construction on residential lots. Contact the agencies below before contacting the City’s Building Division for a Building Permit and before any land altering activity:

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (listed species of concern)
• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection if wetlands are on, or near to your site
• City of Palm Bay Land Development Division to determine if a flood zone permit is required. See the City’s website for more information or contact the Land Development Division at (321) 733-3042.
• City of Palm Bay Utilities Customer Service Contact (321) 952-3420 or email ucs@palmbayflorida.org and/or,
• Brevard County Environmental Health Services at 321-633-2100 or Brevard.EHS@flhealth.gov

Once these Departments and agencies have investigated the site in its natural state and have provided you with guidance and/or permits, you’re now ready to contact the City’s Building Division and Driveway and Lot Drainage Division to apply for permits to construct.

When does construction begin?

Construction begins with site clearing and grubbing. Clearing involves brush and tree removal. Grubbing means bare earth is exposed, which can easily runoff to the City’s swales. Clearing and grubbing may begin when you have received your Building Permit and follow the best management practices below.

Land Clearing Best Management Practices - For Smaller/Single Family Residential Construction Sites (< 1 Acre)

• Silt fence must be properly installed surrounding the entire property and maintained throughout the duration of site construction until the site is permanently stabilized by seeding, or sod.
• A temporary entrance/exit may be constructed using gravel to prevent soil tracking off the site. These entrances may not allow pollutants to enter the City’s drainage system (MS4) and may not block upstream flow.
• A temporary pipe can be installed below the gravel to ensure upstream sites are not subject to flooding.
• If construction is dormant for a long time with bare earth exposed temporary stabilization should be in place, such as seeding, or sod.

You've protected your site and the swales and are ready to begin construction

• Dumpsters should be kept onsite only, in a high dry area. Construction and other waste/ debris shall be kept in the dumpsters which will be emptied when full.
• Port-o-lets for workers shall be kept onsite only, also in a dry area.
• Practice good housekeeping by keeping oil/fuel or chemicals of any kind securely contained.
• If spills occur have a spill prevention and clean-up plan in place.
• Maintain a concrete wash out area on site, make sure it all stays on site.

Throughout the construction process, surveyors, and building inspectors will need to
inspect your building, driveway, and lot grading. They will also ensure that best management practices remain in place.

If you as a builder, contractor, or landowner have questions about applying the best management practices described above feel free to call 321-953-8985.

For more information about building single family homes in the City of Palm Bay please visit the City of Palm Bay's Permits and Inspections website.

What is LID?

LID is a conservative stormwater management, land development and re-development strategy. Sites in their natural state developed in this way mimic existing natural hydrologic processes of infiltration, storage, evaporation, and evapotranspiration while emphasizing ecological conservation. Re-developed sites focus on reducing and disconnecting impervious areas while capturing and retaining runoff for refuse and/ or infiltration. The site planner/designer, where possible, uses on-site natural topography and vegetation, innovative site planning, and distributed stormwater storage, treatment, and retention rather than utilizing conventional stormwater management practices.

Stormwater management design is integrated into an existing undeveloped or previously developed site, as opposed. to being designed for runoff to be piped or channeled as quickly as possible to a single engineered retention, or detention facility for attenuation and treatment.

City of Cocoa Beach- LID incorporation in downtown re-development. Curb cuts are used to channel runoff to landscaped areas. The roadway runoff that previously traveled untreated to the Lagoon is stored in underground chambers called tree wells to be used by the landscaping vegetation and transpired.

What does LID accomplish?

• Achieves and often exceeds multiple statutory or local regulations – such as: managing peak discharge rates and total discharge volume; providing effective stormwater treatment to minimize pollutant loadings; maintaining or improving the hydrologic regime at a site; and retaining or harvesting stormwater on-site for non-potable purposes. Low Impact Development can drastically reduce the cost of construction versus conventional engineered solutions.  LID promotes integrating stormwater management systems into the landscaping, and open space of a proposed development creating more attractive new, or re-developments that emulate Florida’s natural systems. 
• Preserve or restore natural features and resources – The conservation, or restoration of natural features such as floodplains, soils, and vegetation help to retain or restore hydrologic functions thereby reducing the need for clear cutting, grubbing, and regrading entire sites to meet stormwater management requirements.
• Minimize soil compaction – Soil compaction due to heavy machinery usage disturbs native soil structure, reduces infiltration rates, and limits root growth and plant survival. 
• Reduce and disconnect impervious surfaces – By minimizing impervious surfaces, especially directly connected impervious surfaces, more rainfall can infiltrate into the ground and less stormwater volume and pollutant loading are generated. 
• Manage stormwater close to the source - Using source controls to minimize the generation of stormwater or pollutants that can get into stormwater needs to be first step in managing stormwater. 
• Use a BMP Treatment Train approach – Effective stormwater management requires a comprehensive approach that incorporates source controls with multiple structural stormwater BMPs (retention, detention, and filtration) often integrated into the landscaping to create an efficient stormwater management system. 
  

LID site design requires a fundamental shift away from the traditional “collect, concentrate, convey, centralize and control” approach that engineers, and other designers have standardized to meet State regulations and local Ordinances, to a new stormwater management mantra of “retain, detain, recharge, filter and use”. Conventional stormwater management systems typically clear cut, fill and reshape a site and use a single engineered stormwater BMP located at the “bottom of the hill,” with runoff channeled, or piped over or under often significant amounts of impervious area.  Even if current State standards for attenuation of peak discharge rates during design storms are met, larger volumes of polluted stormwater discharge off the developed site in the post-development condition. LID systems achieve volume attenuation, and treatment at or near the source, utilizing the maximum amount of natural landscape, inherent storage, infiltration, and evapotranspiration capacity of the site. LID systems use a suite of stormwater integrated management practices (IMPs) – Site Planning IMPs, Source Control IMPs, and Structural IMPs such as retention, detention, infiltration, treatment, and harvesting mechanisms – that are integrated into a project site to function as a Treatment Train.

How are these goals accomplished?

LID practices facilitate on-site infiltration by preserving pervious surfaces, limiting the total area of impervious surfaces, and disconnecting impervious surfaces. The following site design objectives are key to achieving the State’s and City’s stormwater hydrology and pollutant load reduction goals for discharge to impaired waterbodies such as the Indian River Lagoon : 

• Conservation Measures - Preserve or conserve existing site features and assets that facilitate natural hydrologic function. 
• Maximize retention and protection of native or existing cover, vegetation, and wetlands and replant trees, and other vegetation to intercept, evaporate, and transpire precipitation. 
• Preserve permeable, native soil, and enhance disturbed soils to store, and infiltrate stormwater. 
• Retain and incorporate topographic site features that slow, store, and infiltrate stormwater.
• Retain and incorporate natural stormwater management features and patterns.
• Minimize site disturbance and compaction of soils through low impact clearing, grading, and construction measures. 
  Site Planning and Minimization Techniques - Minimize generation of runoff and pollutants from your project as close to the source as possible. 
• Use a multidisciplinary approach that includes planners, engineers, landscape architects, and architects at the initial phases of the project. 
• Locate buildings away from critical areas and soils that provide effective infiltration.
• Reduce hard surfaces, total impervious surface area, minimize directly connected impervious areas, increase retention of native vegetation, and plant native trees. 
  Integrated Management Practices 
• Manage stormwater as close to its origin as possible by using small scale, distributed hydrologic controls. 
• Create or retain a naturally contoured landscape that slows runoff.
• Increase effectiveness of the stormwater management system by incorporating multiple and redundant LID flow control measures. 
• Integrate stormwater controls into the development design and use the controls amenities to create a multifunctional landscape while effectively meeting the City’s Land Development Code requirements for open space and amenities that feature conservation.
• Reduce the reliance on traditional conveyance and pond technologies and standardize integrated management practices to meet statutory and local requirements.

Site Planning and Minimization Techniques - Minimize generation of runoff and pollutants from your project as close to the source as possible. 

• Use a multidisciplinary approach that includes planners, engineers, landscape architects, and architects at the initial phases of the project. 
• Locate buildings away from critical areas and soils that provide effective infiltration.
• Reduce hard surfaces, total impervious surface area, minimize directly connected impervious areas, increase retention of native vegetation, and plant native trees. 
  Integrated Management Practices 
• Manage stormwater as close to its origin as possible by using small scale, distributed hydrologic controls. 
• Create or retain a naturally contoured landscape that slows runoff.
• Increase effectiveness of the stormwater management system by incorporating multiple and redundant LID flow control measures. 
• Integrate stormwater controls into the development design and use the controls amenities to create a multifunctional landscape while effectively meeting the City’s Land Development Code requirements for open space and amenities that feature conservation.
• Reduce the reliance on traditional conveyance and pond technologies and standardize integrated management practices to meet statutory and local requirements.

Low Impact Construction Techniques - Clearing, grading, and construction measures that minimize site disturbance and promote LID function:

• Minimize the amount of area cleared.
• Clear selectively to protect trees and other vegetation.
• Use smaller and lighter construction equipment where possible.
• Keep heavy equipment outside of the drip line of preserved trees.
• Minimize grading and importing of fill (e.g., through use of stem wall construction).
• Keep heavy equipment off soils where infiltration-dependent stormwater practices will be used.
• Designate storage areas for construction equipment and materials

  Maintenance and Education

• Develop reliable and long-term maintenance programs to provide clear and enforceable standards.
• Educate owners of LID projects, landscape management professionals, and other interested parties on the operation and maintenance of LID systems.
• Protect LID systems by promoting community participation.

The more closely an engineered stormwater system mimics a site’s pre-development hydrologic characteristics, the better it will perform in terms of meeting both volume control and treatment goals for the project. This means LID projects should strive to have the same conditions (or better, if a site has already been degraded) for total and peak stormwater runoff volumes, runoff conveyance patterns, and infiltration and treatment capacity as were present before development. LID project designs typically employ a combination of innovative, conventional, non-structural, and structural engineered designs to accomplish these goals. Note that although LID techniques are often decentralized within a site or parcel, they are not disconnected but are integrated into a Integrated Management Practice Treatment Train.

Typically, LID practices will not completely replace more conventional “bottom-of-the-hill” stormwater management practices but can be used to complement these practices and to ensure that the entire stormwater management system meets the State of Florida and City of Palm Bay pollution reduction goals, while sustainably developing for the future and helping to improve water quality and ecology of the Indian River Lagoon, which has been degraded by short-sighted conventional development. To learn more about Low Impact Development in Brevard County and Florida, visit the Lagoon Loyal website  and Save The IRL website.

For the latest research on Low impact development techniques, and operation and maintenance practices to maintain effectiveness visit the University of Central Florida Stormwater Management Academy website.

Florida-Friendly landscaping promotes the following principles and practices.

1. Right Plant, Right Place
2. Water Efficiently
3. Fertilize Appropriately
4. Mulch
5. Attract Wildlife
6. Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
7. Recycle Yard Waste
8. Reduce Stormwater Runoff
9. Protect the Waterfront

Visit our Stormwater Education for Homeowners for if you’re interested in more resources and information that will guide you to creating a sustainable, and attractive landscape that also reduces stormwater runoff from your yard and saves you money!