Stormwater BMP Certification

New Stormwater BMPs are certified as a condition of final plat approval or occupancy and are re-certified every fifth year thereafter.  A Drainage Letter of Credit is required prior to a building permit for residential and commercial construction.  The stormwater facilities are re-certified as a condition of releasing the Letter of Credit.

The goal is to establish a field data collection and office review process that results in consistent, concise, and documented certification of existing stormwater BMP facilities in the City. The stormwater BMPs will be inspected for performance and maintenance deficiencies and compared with the approved plans to ensure they are still functioning as approved and providing the level of down stream protection that is expected.

It is the City’s intent to initiate a certification and re-certification  of over 300 stormwater BMP's throughout the City. The certification process ensures that the BMP's are being properly maintained and operated to ensure adequate performance. If it is found that the BMP's don’t meet the approved performance standards, or if adequate maintenance or operation is not being performed, the City will then take appropriate action on these drainage facilities to ensure their optimal performance.

Most developments have a Stormwater Maintenance and Easement Agreement that defines the requirements.  The agreements are recorded with the Ozaukee County Register of Deeds.

The BMP owner must hire an independent Professional Engineer or Registered Land Surveyor to certify that the Stormwater BMP complies with the original design standards.  The consultant's cost can range depending on the size of the BMP(s).  Location of the consultant and many other factors specific to each consultant firm.



In addition to the fees charged by the consultant, the City will charge a fee of $100/hour to review the pond certification reports for completeness and accuracy and to administer the program.  Stormwater BMP owners may contact the City for a list of consultants familiar with the City's certification requirements which should minimize City review time and related charges.

Stormwater BMP recertification is required every five years.

The datum should match the original vertical datum wherever possible.  The vertical datum shall be indicated on the certification form.

The type of BMP dictates the type of form:

WP = Wet Pond                                                                                                                          RG = Rain Garden                                     

DP  = Dry Pond                                                                                                                           TR = Turf

OC  = Outlet Control Structure (includes filtering manhole structures)                            PP = Pervious Pavement

BIO/BF = Bio-Filtration device                                                                                                  CI = Cistern

UG  = Underground Detention

Contact the City Engineer for further direction.  Kristen Lundeen 262-236-2938

City staff will contact you to work out a compliance schedule.  Once repairs are made, the stormwater BMP will likely need re-inspection by the certifier to confirm compliance.