City approves stormwater data-management software to meet MS4 reporting requirements

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 6-0 to approve purchase of a stormwater data-management software system to support the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) reporting requirements. Public Works Director Butch Taylor told the board that federal and state changes to MS4 reporting make software necessary to meet updated reporting needs; the new system will integrate with existing planning and permitting software to reduce manual data exchanges. “So it it's a program that we can work with, planning codes. They can work with us instead of us cutting and pasting and emailing back and forth, we can access the database and it works both ways,” Taylor said. The board approved the purchase without further amendment. Staff said the system will streamline reporting and allow shared database access between departments to comply with evolving state and federal stormwater regulations. The item was presented as part of the Public Works agenda and follows prior departmental briefings to the board.