Town of Winchester Low Impact
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TOWN OF WINCHESTER LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL Funding Provided by The Farmington River Enhancement Grants Administered by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) MMI #3175-04 May 2, 2011 Prepared for: Town of Winchester 338 Main Street Winsted, Connecticut 06098 Prepared by: MILONE & MACBROOM, INC. 99 Realty Drive Cheshire, Connecticut 06410 (203) 271-1773 www.miloneandmacbroom.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose .....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Impacts of Uncontrolled Development ....................................................................2 1.3 Connecticut Rainfall and Stream Flow Patterns ......................................................3 2.0 OVERVIEW OF LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT (LID) ...............................................6 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................6 2.2 Application of LID in Winchester .........................................................................8 3.0 NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY ..........................................................................9 3.1 Geology ....................................................................................................................9 3.1.1 Surficial Geology .....................................................................................9 3.1.2 Bedrock Geology ...................................................................................11 3.2 Water Resources ....................................................................................................11 3.2.1 Highland Lake ............................................................................................12 3.2.2 Lake Winchester ........................................................................................13 3.2.3 Mad River ..................................................................................................13 3.2.4 Still River ...................................................................................................13 3.2.5 East Branch of the Naugatuck River ..........................................................14 3.2.6 Public Water Supply Watersheds...............................................................14 3.2.7 FEMA Floodplain ......................................................................................15 3.3 Significant Habitat Areas .......................................................................................16 4.0 LID DESIGN AND PLANNING ......................................................................................16 4.1 Site Planning ..........................................................................................................16 4.1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................16 4.1.2 Planning and Design Process .....................................................................17 4.1.3 Impervious Cover.......................................................................................20 4.1.4 Protection of Natural Resources ................................................................22 4.1.5 Minimizing Grading and Site Disturbance ................................................23 4.1.6 Site Layout .................................................................................................23 LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL TOWN OF WINCHESTER, CONNECTICUT MAY 2011 TC-i 4.2 Stormwater Management .......................................................................................24 4.2.1 Existing Drainage Problems ......................................................................24 4.2.2 Maintain Drainage Patterns........................................................................25 4.2.3 Small-Scale Distributed Controls ..............................................................26 4.2.4 Infiltration ..................................................................................................26 4.2.5 Peak Runoff and Volume Attenuation .......................................................27 4.2.6 Water Quality Management .......................................................................29 4.3 Retrofits..................................................................................................................30 5.0 NEXT STEPS ....................................................................................................................33 5.1 Conservation Subdivision ......................................................................................33 5.2 Impervious Cover Standards ..................................................................................34 5.3 Storm Drainage Design Standards .........................................................................35 6.0 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................35 7.0 OTHER RESOURCES AND LINKS ................................................................................36 APPENDIX A - LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Sensitive Soils Map Figure 2 Hydrologic Soils Group Map Figure 3 Water Resources Map Figure 4 Significant Habitat Figure 5 Impervious Surface Analysis Map Figure 6 Sewer Service Area Map Figure 7 Zoning Map LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL TOWN OF WINCHESTER, CONNECTICUT MAY 2011 TC-ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose The Town of Winchester has undertaken land use regulation and municipal ordinance revisions to promote the use of Low Impact Development (LID) principles for planning and stormwater management throughout the community. This work is being done through a grant from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection as part of an initiative to eliminate barriers to LID for towns in the Farmington River Watershed. More specifically, the goal of the grant is to review local land use regulations and ordinances and draft recommended revisions to eliminate impediments to the use of LID in land development projects. This is being accomplished through establishment of a study committee that is coordinating with the local land use boards and interested project partners to take a comprehensive look at how LID can best be integrated into the land use process. As the project develops, a public meeting will be held to discuss the draft findings and allow for public interaction to incorporate input from all residents and business partners in the community. This manual is provided as a guide to designers for use in the conceptual planning for a land use project. The intent is to provide the designer with a tool kit for implementation of LID strategies with the goal of tailoring each development project to fit the natural character of a site and protect the natural resources of the area. The townwide natural resource information is for planning purposes only and is no substitute for site-specific studies that are necessary to understand individual site constraints that must be considered as part of the design. LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL TOWN OF WINCHESTER, CONNECTICUT MAY 2011 PAGE 1 1.2 Impacts of Uncontrolled Development Prior to implementing land use regulations, development occurred in an uncontrolled fashion as our nation grew rapidly through the industrial age. During that period and in previous years, many industrial uses were located close to streams, rivers, and large water bodies where water could be harnessed for use for power generation or as needed in the internal processing. For many of these uses, dams were created and major infrastructure was developed to serve these industries. As the industries grew and attracted more and more workers, housing was developed in adjacent areas and infrastructure was further expanded to support the workforce. During this period of growth, there was not much thought of the impacts of development. Over time, we realized that the decrease in floodplain adjacent to rivers, combined with the increased runoff from impervious areas, led to major flooding problems, decreases in water quality, and negative impacts on wildlife. The initial solution was to increase the capacity of rivers and streams by widening, deepening, and providing armored linings. In addition, flood control dams and large-scale water quality treatment facilities were implemented to lessen the impacts. This eventually led to the thinking that stormwater management controls were necessary for all new developments. The designs were based on collect-and-convey type of controls. Roads were curbed and pipe systems were designed to collect stormater and convey it to a central detention basin where the peak flows were metered back to control flooding. While this helped to solve flooding issues, it did little to improve water quality. The practice of site development and stormwater management design has now evolved to be more environmentally sensitive where more attention is paid to maintaining natural conditions and protecting natural resources. This is where LID plays a major role in land use today. LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MANUAL TOWN OF WINCHESTER, CONNECTICUT MAY 2011 PAGE 2 1.3 Connecticut Rainfall and Stream Flow Patterns This section provides