Puyallup studies stormwater comprehensive plan update; council hears about new permit rules, projects and $1.1B funding gap

Puyallup City officials presented a draft update to the city’s stormwater comprehensive plan at a council study session on April 15, 2025, laying out new regulatory requirements, a six‑year implementation program and a prioritized capital list that city staff say will require more staffing and grant funding to implement.

The plan, introduced by Kelton Parker, stormwater engineer for the City of Puyallup, and presented with consultant Margaret Hales of Brown & Caldwell and City Engineer Hans Hunger, describes the municipal system — “stormwater is rainwater and runoff that is collected through our drainage system,” Parker said — and the work needed to meet an updated municipal stormwater permit (Phase 2) and the Clean Water Act obligations the permit implements.

City staff said the plan’s near‑term goals are to prioritize capital projects for the next six years, map stormwater‑beneficial tree canopy, improve asset management and create a new program to address stormwater at existing developed sites (SMED). Parker said SMED’s target is to fund or implement treatment that serves 6.9 acres of drainage area, a number derived from the state permit’s formula for the city’s population. The plan also calls for mapping treated and untreated drainage areas…