By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer

HOWARD – The Howard village board agreed Monday, Nov. 26, to ordinance changes to lower total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorous (TP) in storm water discharges within the village’s municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) area.

Mike Kaster, the village’s director of engineering, said the revisions update the village’s code related to post-construction storm water management.

“It has to do with putting more numerical goals for new development and redevelopment within the village, which will help the village for the overall goals that we have to reach village-wide,” Kaster said.

Kaster noted the total maximum daily load (TMDL) goals include limiting TSS to 52 percent and TP to 41 percent in storm water discharges within the MS4 area.

“They were the numbers that we discussed back in March when we approved the TMDL implementation plan, which is the fancy name for – we have to clean up our water as much as possible, as quickly as possible,” he said. “This is the step that we had decided to take at that time to have new and redeveloped sites assist us in that.”

Kaster said the changes are consistent with other municipalities in the area.

“We’re not going to be overly punitive to new development, versus neighboring municipalities,” he said.

Testing services

In other action, the board approved entering into a master service agreement with ECS Midwest for geotechnical testing as required for village construction projects.

Kaster informed the board River Valley Testing (RVT), which performed those services in the past for the village, was acquired by ECS Midwest and offers the same services at RVT.

“The agreement – all this does is allows us to contract on an invoice basis for construction testing as needed for construction projects,” he said. “Those are all paid by the project budgets, or, in most cases, by the developer, who may have these testing services done.”

Unlike construction services, Kaster said consulting services are not required to be bid out.

“Because the people that we’re working with are the same people that we’ve been working with for 20 years, we’re comfortable with continuing to have this relationship with that same office,” he said.