City of Sunset Hills Stormwater
Master Plan

What is stormwater, how is stormwater managed, and why is it important?

Stormwater is any water that falls during rainstorms. Stormwater either soaks into the ground or runs off. This runoff travels through ditches, street gutters, storm sewers, and drainageways on its way to local streams and rivers.

Heavy precipitation can create large amounts of runoff, overwhelming existing infrastructure and potentially leading to hazardous flooding. MSD operates and maintains a large network of drainage infrastructure, which includes inlets, catch basins, storm sewers, culverts, ditches, and streams.

What is a stormwater management program?

This program is a way to fairly assess the stormwater problems throughout the City and determine which problems have the most benefit. The program has three phases:

‍Phase I: Data Collection includes collecting information from residents, businesses, and stakeholders about stormwater problems. The result of this phase is a map of problem points that are categorized by type of problem and severity.

‍Phase II: Conceptual Development and Prioritization includes grouping problems into areas that can be addressed by stormwater infrastructure projects. We will then develop conceptual solutions and determine the costs and benefits to each project. The result of this phase is a Stormwater Master Plan, which is a prioritized list of projects.

‍Phase III: Implementation includes designing and constructing stormwater improvement projects to alleviate flooding and erosion.