SGFNN Blog - Winter

Wintertime is here and 2023 is beginning!

Since it’s cold out and everyone is preparing for snow, it’s important that you know how Environmental Services’ operations may be impacted by winter weather and temperature drops and some tips to combat those affects. Here are some tips to help combat wintertime impacts:

Wastewater:

• Daily wastewater maintenance operations get more difficult in winter just like your morning commute! Snow gets plowed or shoveled on top of manhole covers which makes sewer repairs and maintenance a challenge. As you shovel your driveway and sidewalks, keep those manholes clear of snow and shovel them off so we can maintain and repair the sewer quickly when needed. 

Stormwater:

• City staff receive a lot of citizen reports of improper disposal of leaves this time of year. Remember it is a city code violation to blow, rake, or dump leaves, grass clippings, or other yard waste into the street, ditch, or storm drain. Disposal at the landfill is also prohibited. Mulch-mow leaves or dispose of them at the City recycling center where they will be turned into beneficial compost.

Solid Waste:

• When conditions are cold, the landfill doesn’t stop operations! This means that our employees have to work in colder and potentially hazardous conditions such as rain, snow, ice, etc. Check the weather before you come to landfill. It’s better to wait a day or two until travel is safer than brave risky conditions on the roads. Landfill staff are not available to help unload, so bundle up and prepare to dispose of your solid waste in cold temperatures.

 If you want to learn more about these and more winter topics and tips, check out the latest issue of Springfield Neighborhood News at sgfneighborhoodnews.com

Written By:

ES Staff

MS4 20 Year Anniversary

2022 marks 20 years since the City of Springfield received its first Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). The federal Clean Water Act requires communities nationwide to obtain an MS4 permit and implement a program to address stormwater pollution. These federal stormwater regulations are implemented at a state level by MDNR. Locally, the City and watershed partners were proactive in recognizing and implementing measures such as the 1999 Water Quality Protection Policy to address stormwater pollution ahead of these regulations. Springfield also became the first community in the state to work through the application process with MDNR and receive its MS4 permit in 2002.

As any MS4 community can attest, developing a program to address all the components of the MS4 regulations is a long journey that typically starts with inventory and mapping of the stormwater system to understand how it is all connected and where it discharges to waterways. Public education is also important to implement early on to spread awareness about the connection of storm drains to waterways and the potential impact of daily actions on the quality of stormwater runoff. Over time, communities must adopt appropriate local codes to prevent unlawful discharges of pollution to the stormwater system and implement requirements for specific sources of stormwater pollution including construction sites, development, and industries. Springfield’s MS4 program has grown to include all these components over time, including the adoption of a water quality requirement for redevelopment in early 2022.

In May of this year, the City’s MS4 permit was renewed by MDNR which begins the next 5-year cycle of MS4 activities. The MS4 program is guided by a required Stormwater Management Plan that includes the best management practices and measurable goals that the City is implementing to meet the permit requirements. Submittal of an annual report is one of the permit requirements and serves as an opportunity to highlight the program’s many accomplishments in water quality protection as well as the contributions of other departments who also play a role in stormwater pollution prevention. The City’s MS4 Stormwater Management Plan and 2022 MS4 Annual Report are available at https://www.springfieldmo.gov/2147/Regulation-Resources.

Carrie Lamb

Water Quality Compliance Officer
Environmental Services

417-864-1944
[email protected]
290 E Central St, Springfield, MO 65802

Supplemental Overflow Control Plan

Springfield Environmental Services recently completed an annual report of its Supplemental Overflow Control Plan (SOCP) activities for fiscal year 2022. The report contains information on the overall structure of the program and the work completed between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. This information is required to be provided annually to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, however, we think it is also a great tool to help educate Springfield rate payers on the progress being made to improve their sanitary sewer infrastructure and community.  

The primary goals of the SOCP, on which the City of Springfield is scheduled to invest $300 million over a 15-year period, are to eliminate both wet-weather sanitary sewer overflows from the sewer collection system and prohibited bypasses from the City’s two wastewater treatment plants. Overflows and bypasses can occur when the capacity of the sanitary sewer system or treatment plant is exceeded during rain events when large volumes of water enter the system. This occurs through improper connections, like gutter downspouts or basement sump pumps, which are termed “inflow” sources as well as seepage from groundwater pressures through cracks or other deficiencies in the system piping or manholes, which are termed “infiltration” sources. Together, these inflow and infiltration (also known as I&I) sources can, during major rain events, contribute more than three times the volume of normal dry weather wastewater flows. This can temporarily overwhelm the system and require that pressure is relieved through overflows, typically occurring at manholes, where a mixture of I&I and wastewater escape until the rain event subsides.  

A few highlights from the 2022 SOCP report:

• The highlight of SOCP activity in fiscal year 2022 was the investment of $8.02 million in collection system renewal projects. These projects help correct leaks in sanitary sewer system pipes (of which the city has 1,200 miles) and manholes (which number more than 29,000) by a variety of rehabilitation techniques including pipe lining, pipe replacement or repair, and lining of manholes. These improvements help tighten up our community’s aging sewer system and help reduce overflows into neighborhoods and backups into homes and businesses while overall extending the life of the infrastructure and making the system more efficient.
• $1.89 million was invested in treatment plant renewal projects that include expanding a wastewater holding facility at the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant to increase storage capacity for large wet weather events and general rehabilitation work on the testing laboratory and primary treatment components of the Southwest Plant. Long-range planning studies were also begun for both the Northwest and Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plants to assess near-term rehabilitation needs at each facility and plan for long-term facility improvements to support the projected growth of the Springfield area.  
• A total of $780,000 was invested in the City’s Private Sewer Repair Program to reduce I&I from private sources, such as homes and businesses, that are connected to the collection system. This program strategy seeks to help property owners become aware of deficiencies in their plumbing that are contributing inflow to the public sewer system. Identified problems are then repaired at no cost to the property owner. Reducing I&I from private sources helps lower peak flows during wet weather events and collectively contributes to reducing overflow events.  
• The remaining $3 million was invested in various other program strategies, including projects to increase flow capacity at certain bottlenecks in the collection system, the monitoring of system flows, a study to optimize sewer cleaning efforts, and other programs to help improve water quality.

In the first two years of the SOCP, the City has invested a total of $39.32 million, which is very close to a straight-line average necessary to meet the overall investment goal by 2035. View a copy of the full 2022 SOCP annual report and view past annual reports at springfieldmo.gov/OCP.  The City of Springfield continues to make progress towards the overall goals of the Plan and has seen significant reduction of I&I in sewer basins where program work has been completed.  

Written By:

Ron Petering

Assistant Director 
Environmental Services
417-864-2051
[email protected]
755 N. Franklin Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802