Stormwater regulations define an "illicit discharge" as "any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater" (except discharges resulting from fire fighting activities and a few other categories). Common sources of non-stormwater, dry weather discharges in urban areas include apartments and homes, car washes, restaurants, airports, landfills, and gas stations, to name but a few. These so called "generating sites" discharge sanitary wastewater, septic system effluent, vehicle wash water, washdown from grease traps, motor oil, antifreeze, gasoline and fuel spills, among other substances. Although these illicit discharges can enter the storm drain system in various ways, they generally result from either direct connections (e.g., wastewater piping either mistakenly or deliberately connected to the storm drains) or indirect connections (e.g., infiltration into the storm drain system, spills, or "midnight dumping"). Illicit discharges can be further divided into those discharging continuously and those discharging intermittently.

Studies indicate that dry weather discharges contribute significant pollutants to receiving waters. The detection and elimination of illicit discharges is important to protect and restore urban waterways. The development of an effective municipal illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) program requires the establishment of adequate legal authority to prohibit illicit discharges; to assess and prioritize potential areas, pollutants, or behaviors of concern; to coordinate existing resources; to establish a mechanism to track activities; and to establish measurable goals.

The City of Fort Oglethorpe cares about the stormwater management system and the quality of water entering and leaving our area. You can help us maintain quality standards by reporting illicit connections to the city.  Please go to our Questions/Concerns page to report any potential problems or to ask a question.  We will to our best to respond within 24-hours during the week and by Monday afternoon if your question is posted on a weekend.  Any concerns that may be serious, hazardous or life threatening, please call 9-1-1 to report the issue.

A great source of information regarding IDDE programs is the Center for Watershed Protection.

A WORD ABOUT SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS (SSOs)

One thing that the EPA strongly recommends that each City or County try to improve is the number of occurrences of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).  These are time when raw sewage escapes from a separate sanitary sewer system before it has reached a treatment facility.  Raw sewage contains bacteria and nutrients that endanger both human health and the environment. SSOs occur when the flow into the system exceeds the design capacity of the conveyance system, resulting in discharges into basements, streets, and streams.  Sewage overflowing from a manhole is a common SSO, and it frequently results in untreated sewage flowing into a stream. While SSOs can occur in any system due to flooding or temporary blockages, chronic overflows indicate a deteriorating system or a system where supply has exceeded capacity. For every 1,000 miles of sanitary sewer lines, an estimated 140 overflows occur annually. (AMSA, 1994).  An Association of Metropolitan Sewage Agencies survey also found that 15 to 35 percent of all sewer lines were over-capacity and could potentially overflow during a storm.

“Combined Sewer Systems: How One City Is Coping” by Janis Keating out of the September 2006 Stormwater Magazine.
Volume 7, Number 6

Photo: Jeff Grabarkiewicz

 This is an outfall from a detention basin where there is little erosion control on the site (a subdivision).  The detention pond is within the 100 year floodplain on Swan Creek, Monclova Township, Lucas County Ohio.  The sediment plume could be easily seen downstream.. Picture was found on the website for Stormwater Magazine.

Photo: EPA Website

Wash water from a commercial car wash discharging down a storm drain is an example of an illicit discharge.