The Town of Bridgewater operates a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), which regulates how we manage and discharge stormwater. We’re unique in that we’re the only Town in Rockingham County required to do this based on our population density and our location on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. (Rockingham County is not an MS4 either, while both Harrisonburg and JMU are.) But we follow the law and take these matters seriously.
As part of our MS4, we were required to create a Chesapeake Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) Action Plan to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus discharged through our stormwater into our waterways. Our target is to decrease nitrogen by 999 lbs per year and phosphorus by 124 lbs per year.
These TMDL reduction requirements have been rolled out in phases. Phase I called for 5% of reduction goals in 2018, 40% reduction in 2023, and 100% reduction by 2028. The Town met its 2018 goals primarily through street sweeping. We knew that street sweeping would not allow us to achieve our 100% reduction target, so we created the Oakdale Park Pond, which will satisfy 96% of our nitrogen and 100% of our phosphorous reduction requirements for 2028. We’re thrilled that the pond gets us nearly all the way to our 2028 TMDL goals. (There are a number of things we can do to fulfill the remaining 4% nitrogen reduction.)
A draft of our Phase III Chesapeake Bay Action Plan is posted for public review. If you have any questions or comments about it—or any questions about our stormwater program in general, please e-mail stormwater@bridgewater.town or call us at (540) 908-4212.