What is Stormwater?

Storm water or polluted water runoff is rain or melted snow that flows over the ground. In developed or urban areas the stormwater runs off of roof tops, asphalts and over parking lots, where it cannot soak into the ground, picking up pollutants such as oils, paints, gas, trash and fertilizers and carries them downstream to our lakes, rivers and waterways.

Storm Water Utility & Management

The City of Stoughton adopted a Stormwater Utility Ordinance on September 11, 2012 to control pollutants and suspended solids to improve the city's water quality and reduce the amount storm water before it enters our lakes and streams. The Storm water Utility will fund maintenance and improvements to the city's storm water management system through a user fee based on the impervious area found on each parcel of land. The fee will be collected on a monthly basis through the Stoughton Utilities' invoice along with water, electric and wastewater.

Stormwater Utility Policies (Under Stormwater)

Stormwater Utility Applications (Under Stormwater Utility Applications)

Review the various resources to see how you can make a difference:

Storm water affects each of us in different ways. Water quality and flood damage protection are key issues to evaluate when creating Stoughton's strategy for storm water management. Stoughton operates under a WPDES Permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Love Your Lakes and Rivers, Don't Leaf Them

Sign up for Leaf-Free Streets Rain Alerts here!

Red, gold, and orange leaves gently falling from trees; a true symbol that autumn has arrived here in Wisconsin. The choices we make with falling leaves today can impact the health of our land and water next summer. Nutrients released from decaying leaves are a great addition to lawns and gardens, but an unwelcome guest to area lakes and rivers. Leaves and yard debris in the street gets washed directly to lakes and streams via storm drains when it rains. Even if the leaves never move, rainwater running over and through them makes a nutrient-rich tea that’s carried directly to the storm drains promoting algae growth. The good news is that together we can take simple actions to keep leaves and nutrients out of our waters.

• Mulch- Mulch leaves directly on the lawn. Shredded leaves act as a natural fertilizer returning nutrients to the lawns. If your lawn mower has a bagger, empty the chopped up leaves on gardens, flowerbeds or around trees and shrubs.

• Compost- Mix leaves with other compostable items and spread it on gardens next spring. It saves money and water, helps your gardens, and benefits the environment. If you don’t have the room in your yard, take your leaves to the Dane County compost site.

Adopt A Storm Drain!

Stoughton is one of five communities partnering with Dane County on a new Adopt-A-Storm Drain program and we’re looking for volunteers. The goal of the program is to build a network of volunteers committed to cleaning the area on and around local storm drains and report back results. Keeping storm drains clean and clear can prevent localized flooding, and protect our waters. Click here to adopt your storm drain today!