Moore council receives stormwater program report as resident raises new‑development flooding concerns

The Moore City Council received a report on the city's FY 2024'25 Storm Water Quality Program on Sept. 2, and a resident urged the council to investigate new‑development runoff he said is flooding his neighborhood.

Lauren Purcell, an associate planner in the Community Development Department, summarized the MS4 Phase 2 operator activities required by the R04 general permit and described outreach, inspections and monitoring completed during the fiscal year. Purcell told the council staff conducted school and summer camp outreach, hosted two collection events for paper shredding and electronic waste, inspected industrial sites and construction sites, responded to citizen complaints and completed a state audit of the program.

The presentation matters because the city must meet permit requirements for stormwater discharge and maintain post‑construction best management practices that protect downstream neighborhoods and water bodies, Purcell said.

Purcell told the council staff reached 175 fifth‑ and sixth‑grade students at Heritage Trails Elementary and about 150 campers at Oasis summer camp with watershed demonstrations; posted public education on fertilizer use and grass‑clipping disposal; inspected 66 industrial sites including the Moore wastewater treatment plant; and completed a contractor‑assisted stormwater pollution prevention plan for the plant. She said staff received 35 stormwater complaints in the fiscal year and responded to or inspected each within 24 hours, and that all samples collected during dry‑weather screening were within normal ranges. The city purchased a Hach/Hariba U50 series water probe (noted in the presentation as a Hariba U50) and Nalgene sampling bottles for storm events, Purcell said.

Purcell reported 115 private and public detention ponds were inspected after construction; staff noted one violation among those ponds. She said construction activity this year included nine commercial sites, two multi‑family sites and 96 single‑family sites, with 15 active land‑disturbance permits at the time of the report. Staff also told council members they perform construction‑site inspections at least weekly and reported a total of 1,148 stormwater inspections during the year (presented in the briefing as "11 48" stormwater inspections).

Purcell said the Department of Environmental Quality audited the program on Oct. 9 and that staff will continue to use DEQ as a resource. Future goals listed in the presentation included expanded classroom outreach, building a post‑construction notification and inspection program, and enlisting privately owned detention ponds to perform self‑inspections and report results to the city.

During public comment later in the meeting, Mark Jones of 3313 Carroll Circle said runoff from the new Broadmoor Heights addition has increased water flow to Southeast 30th Street and into his backyard. "It's been nothing but water, water, water," Jones said, describing silt and a flume he said is now carrying more flow than it was designed to handle. He asked the council to have staff review grading and drainage plans and to look for ways to limit water entering his neighborhood from the new development. Mayor Mark Ham said council representatives would visit with Jones after the meeting and that the city manager would receive his printed maps and the emailed video link that Jones provided.

The report was received by the council during the meeting; staff answered a procedural question about whether formal action was required and described the item as a report to be received. Council and staff said they would follow up on Jones's complaint and that staff would review the materials he provided.

Purcell's presentation and Jones's public comments make clear the city is handling permit‑required inspections and education while also receiving citizen complaints tied to ongoing development. City staff listed specific next steps in the presentation and indicated they will continue training, public education and coordination with DEQ to maintain compliance and address local drainage issues.