Ask your builder to specify his plan for storm water management during construction and his suggestions for post-construction features that will minimize impact to the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Building on the Water
By Laura Blazey, Construction Site Inspector,
City of Steamboat Springs
Keeping an ecosystem healthy requires a conscientious effort by home designers, contractors, and owners. Humans impact the natural world by our need to provide shelter and use resources. This effect is exacerbated during construction, but can be minimized with some awareness and planning. When builders and owners envision the layout of a lot for great mountain views, they also need to be aware of the potential environmental impact during the construction of this dream home.
As the excavation begins, large pieces of equipment dig deep into the surface of the earth, disturbing the soil, removing vegetation and leaving an exposed site. Once site disturbance occurs, topsoil may be lost because there is no vegetation to stabilize slopes with their root systems. Consequently, fine silt, clay and sand particles mix with rainwater during storm events and become storm-water runoff. Sediment laden water enters city storm drains, is deposited into creeks and rivers, and ultimately changes the natural channel of the river bed through the addition of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. This process, called eutrophication, damages an ecosystem by lowering oxygen levels, reducing biodiversity, and promoting algae growth. Water flow is consequently reduced and the river becomes unable to support spawning grounds for fish. On the other hand, if the excavation is properly managed and best management practices (commonly known as BMPs) are used, runoff can be minimized and clean storm-water runoff will increase the flow rates and counteract the damaging effects of sediment loading.
Water quality may also be affected after construction by runoff from additional impervious (hard surfaced) areas, replacement of natural drought resistant vegetation with high water landscaping, or contamination from work materials (waste concrete, paint, stains, etc) and landscape fertilizer. All of these impacts can be minimized if identified and addressed during the building planning stages.
It's not just a good idea to protect the environment; maintaining storm-water quality is the law. The City of Steamboat Springs is a federally designated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), owning and operating a system of storm water conveyances composed of roadside drainage, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, creeks and rivers. The storm system does not go to the water treatment plant but discharges straight into the Yampa River. This is why preventing any pollutants, including sediments, from entering the storm drains will maintain clean water.
Once pollution occurs it is very hard to reverse the effects, which is why Stormwater Management has a preventative approach of installing controls that inhibit sediment from leaving a site. Because of our population of over 10,000 people and the proximity to a cold water fishery, the Yampa River, Steamboat Springs is deemed a Phase II community. Under the Clean Water Act, the City of Steamboat Springs is mandated to hold a permit for this MS4 and implement six programs that focus on education and enforcement, all of which strive to reduce pollutant loading from urban areas into the storm sewer system.
Home builders and owners can help maintain water quality by planning to address potential effects during building design and construction phasing with particular attention to disturbance caused by construction activity. Even though single family homes disturb less area than most commercial developments, reducing individual impact will ultimately contribute to maintaining a pristine mountain environment. During the planning stages builders can enhance and maintain existing drainage ways, leave natural vegetation undisturbed, minimize impervious areas, design landscape areas to take advantage of natural drainage, use native landscaping materials, porous surfaces in driveways, and sediment settling areas. Owners should work with their builder/architect to identify design elements that can help a new house address storm water quality once built.
During construction, water quality can be maintained through the use of a variety of devices and practices. BMPs include silt fences, wattles, diversion ditches, concrete washout areas, filter bags, project phasing and vegetative buffer zones may be employed, singly or in combination. These measures should be monitored after storms to make sure they are not damaged and are still working. A well designed project might use several BMPs such as a series of check dams to slow the velocity of runoff and then a sediment catch basin to collect stormwater and allow the settling of sediment, along with perimeter control and inlet protection. If one system fails, another will provide backup and the watershed will be protected.
A good plan prior to building, sound practices during construction and permanent features to address storm water issues once construction is completed, are all imperative to the health of Yampa Valley ecosystems. Ask your builder to specify his plan for storm water management during construction and his suggestions for post-construction features that will minimize impact to the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Being aware of these concepts and making them a part of your next home construction project is the way individuals will help maintain clean and diverse waters in the Yampa Valley. 
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