The Stafford Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to consider creating a stormwater management fund to improve infrastructure.
The county’s Stormwater Infrastructure Funding and Implementation Committee developed a newly-proposed grant program. Approved by the County Board of Supervisors, leaders asked the committee to review long-running, and emerging stormwater infrastructure needs in the county’s residential communities.
The grant program’s goals are to promote the inspection, repair, and maintenance of existing neighborhood drainage systems and stormwater management facilities in a way that will best support the safety and welfare of the county.
Legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2019 gives localities like Stafford County the authority to establish such funds to deal with stormwater-related issues.
The Board approved $100,000 from the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which is earmarked specifically for the program’s first year.
If approved, the program would award three different grants based on a set standard for eligibility. Those grants include inventory, inspection, engineering studies, drainage repairs, maintenance, and improvements. The county would share the work cost, which would range from 50 to 75 percent depending on the grant.
The number of funds available to stormwater grant applicants ranges from $6,000 to $25,000. All applications made to the program would be reviewed by the Stormwater Infrastructure Funding and Implementation Committee.
So far, the committee has identified four locations that would pass such a review process to receive grant money for stormwater improvements: Blossomwood Court in North Stafford, The England Run Townhomes in the southern portion of the county, Carriage Hills in the George Washington District, and Plumosa Drive in the Falmouth District.
The metrics that these locations met included concerns of issues due to ongoing erosion, the potential damage caused by stormwater, and water quality questions, to name a few.
Residents may speak on the proposal at the next County Board of Supervisors meeting on December 14.
