| Greetings!
Now that the rainy season is subsiding and we enter the dog days of summer, it's a good time to assess your property's drainage characteristics to make sure that swales, storm sewers, detention ponds and any green infrastructure is functioning properly. This is especially critical if you are holding onto construction sites that are currently dormant.
Read the articles below to find out where you stand with your wetlands.
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Poor Drainage on Construction Sites
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| You have just reached 70% cover on your dormant construction site and can rest easy. No more weekly inspection reports, no more ongoing maintenance costs and no more worries. If only it were that simple. More and more people are returning to sites that have been on hold to find wet spots that have developed wetland characteristics. This often causes confusion and consternation in today's regulatory environment. Here are some common examples:
Basement Hold Downs:
 In residential communities empty lots are often graded with a depression behind the building pad that is designed to accept fill from digging the basement when it's time to build. As time goes on you may find water ponding behind the pad and supporting cat tails and reed canary grass. More often than not someone will dig a swale to the nearest storm sewer inlet in an effort to provide drainage. The problem with this approach is that the inlet is usually a few inched above grade and doesn't take all of the water.
If this goes on for 3 to five years it may be considered "normal circumstances" and your rear lot may be considered a regulated wetland. The Kane County Stormwater Ordinance has a provision that excludes this type of "wetland" if its isolated. Other stormwater Ordinances in the collar counties lack this distinction. If it's connected to a storm drain the U.S. Army corps of Engineers may attempt to regulated the area when it's time to build.
Temporary Sediment Basins and Drainage Swales:
 If this is a feature that is left on the site for three to five years it may be mistaken for a wetland. With the recent turn over in the construction industry, there is often a gap in information regarding site status and an updated wetland delineation report may give you some surprises.
Keep it maintained or fill it in if it is no longer necessary.
Building Pads:
 Don't laugh at this one, it could happen to you. Most dormant commercial sites have big basins dug for stormwater and use the clay fill for building pads. If this is done on an old farm field ther are likely field tiled that have been broken abd not rerouted. Imperfections in the grading on the pad are going to hold water and grow wetland vegetation.
Again if enough time goes by you could be looking at a wetland permit to build on your own pad. This is not a joke, it's happened before.
Bottom Line:
Wetland delineations and USACE permits do expire after three to five years. If you have a permitted site that is currently dormant, make sure that you are checking it out from time to time to make sure that nothing has changed. If there is still work to be done in the future, keep your wetland delineation updated and get extensions on your permits to keep them current.
Take care of these issues now before it's time for a closing or a building permit.
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HOA Turn Over
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You have finally sold enough lots that you are no longer the HOA president. Congratulations it's now time to turn over your naturalized detention ponds and open space. It shouldn't be problem, you got regulatory sign off on these areas three years ago. But are there areas maintained and do they still meet performance standards? It's a good idea to find out before you have the conversation with the new HOA board.
Remember, these areas are "low maintenance" not "no maintenance". Most people in the development community are busy trying to get these areas turned over and are hitting road blocks because of a lack of maintenance. Stay on it and avoid a "do over" at turnover.
 
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Managing Green Infrastructure
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Whether you're in the private or public sector, if your managing land you're probably dealing with more bioswales and rain gardens than you can shake a stick at. On the private side we are seeing single project managers juggling 35 to 40 communities in various states of sign off. On the public side park districts and public works managers can barely keep up with their mowing let alone natural area maintenance. The last thing they want to do is accept any more natural areas from the development community.
A little maintenance can go a long way. If you need help give us a call.
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Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments regarding this newsletter. If you have a project or an event that you would like highlighted don't hesitate to ask. 