Montgomery Drain

In the mid-1990s, an inspection of the Montgomery Drain revealed cracked and collapsed pipes, debris buildup, illicit connections and parts of the system that had reached the end of their useful lives. The Montgomery Drain was also lacking the capacity to adequately store and convey stormwater through the system; 52% of the pipes were too small to convey a 10-year storm event.

Land use changes and increases in both the volume and intensity of precipitation events caused the Montgomery Drain to no longer have enough capacity to operate efficiently, evidenced by localized flooding, surcharged pipes and increased stormwater velocities.

Within the existing drainage district, 80% of the current land cover is impervious—covered with pavement, concrete, rooftops, etc.—which leads to the direct runoff of stormwater into the Montgomery Drain. This direct runoff causes an increase in nonpoint source pollution and introduced metals, salts, hydrocarbons, solids, bacteria and other contaminants into the stormwater, which was ultimately discharging into the Red Cedar River through the Montgomery Drain.

Studies performed by Triterra and Spicer Group, Inc. independently showed that contamination exceeded mandated state and federal water quality criteria. The high level of contamination was a major contributor to the impairment of the Red Cedar River. Based on two years of sampling data, it was estimated that 50,000-75,000 pounds of contamination were conveyed through the Montgomery Drain into the Red Cedar River annually.