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to hire a qualified review and inspection staff, supported by participating govern- mental units. Legislative bodies of local jurisdictions should have the authority to create stormwater utilities without voter approval. First, hearings should be held so property owners can express their views. The final decisions should be made by the elected councilor commission. If established, a stormwater utility should have the power to assess real property to meet expenses, according to contributions of runoff from individual lots and parcels within the jurisdiction of the utility. Planning, Criteria, Policy and Legislation. Local damages and associated costs related to runoff events should be determined. Most public agencies do not tabulate damages, inconvenience, clean-up expense, etc., caused by stormwater flows. This information would be useful in comparing the cost of damages to the estimated cost of improvements, and in justifying and planning corrective programs and pro- jects. It would also be useful in educating and informing local residents about the seriousness and urgency of stormwater problems, the alternative approaches available, and the costs involved. There is great need in most communities for a master drainage plan and compre- hensive drainage design criteria. Masterplans and design criteria are needed to formulate action programs and establish priorities. Also, costs can be estimated and projects planned in advance. Masterplanning should not be delayed until funds are available to implement the plans; conversely, planning should be done in ad- vance so immediate action can be taken when funds become available. In this way, implementation opportunities can be acted upon in a timely manner. Municipalities should adopt ordinances, tailored to their special needs, to regulate land use, drainage, floodplain occupancy, land grading and clearing, etc. If present ordinances are unsatisfactory, or if there is difficulty in their inter- pretation, amendments should be made without delay. All local legislation should reflect the stormwater management policies of the community; if non-existent, such policies should be adopted in conjunction with enactment of legislation. The state highway department and other state agencies, as well as local school and park districts, should be required to observe laws and regulations of the local jurisdictions pertaining to construction of facilities and land development. Pro- jects of some of these agencies have caused serious drainage problems in many places because design and construction is not always coordinated with local laws, regulations and masterplans. Revisions to state statutes may be needed in some states to secure compliance. Land developers are generally aware of stormwater drainage needs; however, many feel that modern drainage requirements increase their costs unnecessarily. They believe that public agencies should be responsible for the costs of required over- sizing of drainage facilities and other costly drainage requirements. Some public agencies agree with this concern and have instituted programs to aid land devel- opers. Some programs encompass sharing of initial oversizing costs; other involve either pro-rata cost allocation or cost reimbursement. Such cooperation and assis- tance by local governments will probably be needed more in future years as land development costs continue to escalate. Stormwater Detention. Facilities for temporary storage (detention) of excess runoff should be incorporated into surface drainage systems where peak 22 I , I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I