Spoil Pile and Vehicle Wash-Down Area Pollution Control Improvement Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The Chesterfield County Utilities Department serves over 304,700 drinking water customers. The water distribution system consists of approximately 2,000 miles of water mains serving 107,000 active accounts and the wastewater collections system consists of approximately 2,044 miles of wastewater lines serving approximately 90,000 active accounts. Even though the Chesterfield Utilities’ water distribution and wastewater collections system is fairly young in comparison to other utility departments throughout the country, line breaks still occur. When these breaks occur, it is necessary to excavate the soil around the pipes. The excavated soil cannot be placed immediately back in place once repairs are completed. This is because the soil is too wet. As the soil is excavated from the worksite, it is loaded onto dump trucks. It is then transported to the department’s operations center where it is unloaded and allowed to dry before disposal. Prior to leaving the site, the trucks must be washed to remove any mud or dirt left in the dump bed. The Chesterfield County Utilities Operations and Maintenance division identified and evaluated the vehicle wash-down and spoil pile area as a potential project that could improve existing standard-operating procedures to minimize any potential environmental impact from the use of the facilities. As a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4 owner/operator, the department implemented a program to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the storm sewer system to the maximum extent practicable in a manner that protects the water quality of nearby streams, rivers, wetlands and bays. This project exemplifies intergovernmental cooperation both within local government and state government. The team effort demonstrated by the individuals and departments involved in the Spoil Pile and Vehicle Wash-down Area Pollution Control Improvement Program significantly improved the success of the program and increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the utilities department’s goal to be a responsible steward of the environment.