Stormwater Outfall Mapping

Implementation of Southbury's Phase II Stormwater Plan demands a significant amount of work to locate and map the Town's numerous storm drain outfalls. The Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley (COGCNV) has assisted its member municipalities by applying for and receiving a DEP Grant to :

• establish the most efficient method for gathering the requisite data
• acquire the necessary equipment
• train municipal staff
• input the data into a regional database
• produce stormwater outfall maps

Public Works staff participated in the training program COGCNV sponsored and subsequently, during the Spring of 2006, located and gathered Global Positioning System (GPS) data for all stormwater outfalls within the urbanized areas. This detailed information has been transmitted to COGCNV and is currently being processed.

Using GIS software, it will be determined into which water body and major drainage basin the discharge empties. Outfall maps will be provided to the DEP and will be used to select discharges for monitoring under the Stomwater Phase II guidelines. The discharge maps may also be used as a component in public education for reducing non-point pollution in local municipalities.

COGCNV has generated a map (pdf file) for the Town which pinpoints all the outflows that we have recorded to date.

The Town of Southbury hopes to extend the benefits of this innovative technology by applying the experience we have gained to undertake additional mapping of other stormwater drainage system components.

Our ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive map of our entire drainage system. Such mapping represents an invaluable tool to assist us in identifying and analyzing necessary drainage improvements, programming a cleaning and maintenance schedule for the system, and recognizing and controlling potential pollution sources.