Stormwater Partnership of Greater Elkhart County, Northern Indiana

Information about the Stormwater Partnership

About the Partnership

The Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership is a cooperative effort of local governments to improve the quality of stormwater runoff. The four government entities in the partnership are the Town of Bristol, City of Elkhart, City of Goshen, and Elkhart County. The Elkhart County Soil and Water Conservation District works with all the entities to help meet the goals of the Partnership.

These four entities have been identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) as urbanized areas that are regulated under the federal Clean Water Act of 1972. This means they are subject to state and federal statutes governing Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s). In Indiana, this rule is called "Rule 13."

In addition to working to make local waterways "fishable and swimmable," the Clean Water Act establishes six "minimum control measures" that these local government entities are required to put in place. These controls are the basis of rules and regulations the county and municipalities set forth for builders, developers, and homeowners to ensure water quality is protected for everyone's benefit.

Clean Water Act Requirements: The six "minimum control measures" our local government agencies are required to put in place.

Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership Organizational Chart: The four named entities in Elkhart County have taken a cooperative approach to addressing the federal and state requirements. This chart shows how this is organized.

Stormwater Quality Management Plan for the Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership: This document (28 MB, PDF format) is the plan that the Partnership submitted to meet the requirements of federal and state stormwater rules. Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3 provide supplemental information.