Consultant outlines stormwater funding options as town faces Chesapeake Bay TMDL deadline

A consultant told the Leesburg Town Council at its Oct. 6 work session that the town’s stormwater system is large and aging, that state and federal stormwater rules and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL impose retrofit and reporting requirements, and that the council must decide both a level of service and how to fund it.

The presentation, delivered by the consultant identified in the meeting as Mr. Boliva, said the town has nearly 200 linear miles of conveyance pipe, about 21 linear miles of improved channels, more than 8,000 storm-drain inlets, roughly 1,000 pipe ends and 426 regulated stormwater outfalls. He said the inventory also includes 85 publicly owned stormwater management facilities and about 373 privately maintained facilities. “It’s all about public safety — preventing flood damage — and it’s also about protecting your local water quality and your local ecosystems,” Boliva said when describing the regulatory drivers including the Virginia erosion and stormwater management rules, the town’s MS4 permit and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.

Why this matters: the council must meet MS4 permit obligations and a hard TMDL deadline in 2028 while an increasing share of the town’s stormwater infrastructure reaches the end of its useful life, the consultant said. He warned that parts of the system — notably corrugated metal pipe and manufactured treatment devices — may require near-term attention. He described a range of program and funding choices that lead to very different operating and capital budgets.

Key findings and costs - System size and condition: consultant…