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The model ordinance is a template containing the minimum
requirements for an effective ordinance and best practices for
maximum stormwater protection, according to Sally McConkey, head
of the Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program at the
ISWS, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois. It is
intended to be used as a stand-alone document to assist any
community wishing to revise its ordinance requirements for
stormwater management, or it could be used as a guide to add
stormwater provisions to existing subdivision ordinances,
building codes, or zoning ordinances.
“The stormwater model ordinance is one tool a community can use
to manage stormwater and reduce flood damages,” McConkey said.
“Adopting provisions of the ordinance can also earn Community
Rating System points for participating communities which can
lower flood insurance rates.”
In the past century, nearly all flood claims involving private
and federal flood insurance were located in urban areas, and
about 90 percent of those claims were located outside of
floodplains, according to the Report for the Illinois Urban
Flooding Awareness Act. (http://www.isws.illinois.
edu/hilites/more.asp?id=ufaa&fr=hi) With extreme
precipitation events increasing by as much as 40 percent, local
ordinances will become particularly important in the future as
communities mitigate stormwater runoff damage to new development
and redevelopment.
The ISWS and IDNR encourage communities to adopt strategies provided in the
ordinance as best practices to mitigate flooding from stormwater runoff. One
strategy is to provide incentives to developers and property owners to decrease
impervious areas and preserve natural areas to allow for evaporation,
infiltration, and stormwater storage.
The model ordinance is now available for local officials at
http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Water Resources/Documents/IL_Model_
Stormwater_Ordinance.pdf
[Lisa A. Sheppard] |
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