Maintenance elements and guidelines for post-construction best management practices

The general public rarely grasps the importance of a stormwater management and conveyance system until the facility fails to work or causes damage and problems. Structures such as detention ponds, catch basins, and infiltration basins often receive attention only when the local agency receives complaints. Even then, (as in the case of flooded streets or turbid water) the problem is often forgotten when the water subsides. It is only when there is loss of life and/or property damage that citizens want to know the reason for the failure of the system. The purpose of this thesis is fourfold: To review the importance of good stormwater system maintenance for stormwater quality and quantity management, to identify and summarize the elements of good maintenance protocol and practices, to recommend stormwater management facility maintenance guidelines to local officials and public, and to develop a guide to serve Tennessee municipalities in developing a maintenance program for stormwater management systems.