Drainage System Inspection and Maintenance

Stormwater facilities are a tool to help minimize the impact of development on the quantity and the quality of water running off a site. The systems are designed to allow the water to run off the site at the same rate as it did before the property was cleared and developed. All stormwater system designs on property in unincorporated Kitsap County are submitted to the County and approved before construction. Many sites are inspected during construction and most sites—whether they are maintained privately by the property owner or publicly by the County—are inspected at least once a year after completion. Proper maintenance and regular inspection of storm drainage facilities can reduce flooding and improve water quality in local streams. Staff from the Surface and Stormwater Management Program Program use a systematic approach to:

• Inspect publicly maintained facilities
• Perform regular maintenance on publicly maintained facilities
• Inspect privately maintained commercial facilities
• Inspect privately maintained residential facilities

What are Stormwater Facilities?
Stormwater facilities are engineered facilities that are designed to convey storm runoff, remove pollutants and control flow rates. These facilities include pipes, ditches, swales, filters, ponds, underground tanks and vaults. These systems are specifically designed to capture, treat, store and then slowly release stormwater runoff downstream or into the
ground.

What is a Stormwater Retention/Detention Facility?
A Retention/Detention (R/D) facility can be a pond, an underground tank or vault, or an infiltration system specifically designed to capture, store and then slowly release stormwater runoff downstream or into the ground. A flow control structure regulates the release rate of the stored water. Some detention ponds are combined with water quality treatment ponds (i.e., wetponds) which are intended to have some water in them on a permanent basis.

A retention or infiltration pond collects stormwater and allows the water to soak into the soil. This infiltration process helps recharge groundwater.

Underground tanks and vaults function the same way detention ponds do: storing rainwater from a storm and then slowly releasing the water downstream. Tanks and vaults can be located underground in the road right-of-way, parking lots, easements on private property, or any designated tract of land. Infiltration tanks or pipes are located underground and release water into the soil where it is absorbed. 

A typical detention pond.

Public Maintained Facilities

There are more than 9,900 storm drains to maintain around the County. These drains are inspected at least once per year by Surface and Stormwater Management Program staff or more often if citizens note a problem. You can help keep our stormwater systems operating properly. To report potential problems with storm drains and other drainage systems, contact Kitsap County’s Surface and Stormwater Management Program Program at 360-337-5777 or openline@co.kitsap.wa.us.

Like any other system, stormwater systems must be regularly maintained to function properly. Surface and Stormwater Management Program’s Facilities Maintenance staff routinely removes sediments and other pollutants from publicly maintained drainage facilities. Routine removal and proper disposal of accumulated pollutants prevents them from being discharged to local streams and Puget Sound. Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management Program is responsible for the maintenance of public retention and detention facilities, catch basins (storm drains), and other runoff quality enhancement facilities throughout unincorporated Kitsap County.

Privately Maintained Commercial Properties

Because the stormwater systems serving commercial properties and businesses in unincorporated Kitsap County are on private property, the property owner maintains these systems. Kitsap County does inspect these systems and assists property owners as much as possible in properly maintaining these systems.

New link for Stormwater Structures Maintenance

Why doesn’t Kitsap County maintain my development’s pond?

Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management Program is responsible for the maintenance of the stormwater systems in most residential developments in unincorporated Kitsap County. However, in some developments the property owner and/or Homeowners’ Association is responsible for the maintenance of the stormwater system. The developer usually makes this arrangement at the time the development plans are approved by the County. In this case, Surface and Stormwater Management Program Program staff perform regular inspections on these facilities as they do with commercial properties. The property owner or Homeowner’s Association is then responsible for any necessary maintenance. If this is the case in your development and you and your neighbors would prefer to have Surface and Stormwater Management Program maintain the stormwater system, please read the County Acceptance of Stormwater Facilities for instructions:

County Acceptance of Stormwater Facilities

Kitsap County may accept maintenance responsibility for existing stormwater facilities serving residential subdivisions, provided they meet the following conditions:

1. Eighty (80) percent or more of the lots within the subdivision have homes constructed upon them, AND
2. The drainage facilities to be maintained satisfactorily pass an inspection by Surface and Stormwater Management Program staff, AND;
3. Drainage facilities are functioning as designed and have been operating for a minimum of two years, AND;
4. A petition signed by more than 50% of lot owners requesting the County to assume maintenance is submitted, AND;
5. All necessary easements are granted to the County. The easements must provide for adequate access and include the tract or parcel where the facility is located.

When all of these conditions have been satisfactorily met, Surface and Stormwater Management Program Engineering staff will prepare and submit a Resolution to the Board of County Commissioners. This Resolution will recommend that the County accept maintenance responsibility for this stormwater facility. The Board then considers Surface and Stormwater Management Program’s recommendation, the petition and any other available information in order to make a decision whether or not to approve the Resolution. If the Board approves the Resolution, the County assumes maintenance responsibility for the facilities.
 

Kitsap County Public Works
Surface and Stormwater Management Program
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
openline@co.kitsap.wa.us