Stormwater Management's mission is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens by providing adequate drainage and flood control within the community and to reduce the pollution of our nation's waterways by implementing a comprehensive stormwater quality management program.

Operational Sections

Stormwater Utility
The Utiliity oversees construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the City’s stormwater drainage system, as well as the water quality aspects of the City’s stormwater pollution prevention program. For more information about the tasks performed by the Stormwater Utility, go to Tasks.  The Stormwater Utility is funded through the Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) fee. The ERU is a monthly fee paid by the owners of all properties in the City to support the efforts of Stormwater Management. The ERU fee is $2.00 per ERU per month. One ERU is equivalent to 2,139 square feet of impervious area. Residential units are billed 1 ERU or $2.00 monthly. Commercial and industrial facilities are billed $2.00 per month for every 2,139 square feet of impervious area on their property. For property owners with water and/or sewer accounts, the fee is billed monthly on their water and sewer bill. For owners without water and sewer accounts, the Stormwater Management billing is done twice a year.

Wichita/Sedgwick County Flood Control
The Flood Control section is responsible for maintaining the Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project, which is better known as the “Big Ditch.” The duties of Flood Control include the maintenance of the floodway, Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, and major streams and creeks within the project limits in accordance with standards established by the Army Corps of Engineers. Total acres maintained by the Flood Control section is 8,612. Flood Control is jointly funded between the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County. For more information related to construction or maintenance within the project go to Wichita/Sedgwick County Flood Control.

Special News Notice

FEMA updates Flood Insurance Maps for Portions of West Wichita & Sedgwick County in 2011

Impacted Watersheds:

• Calfskin Creek
• Tributary to Calfskin Creek
• Northfork Calfskin Creek
• Tributary to Northfork Calfskin Creek
• Middlefork Calfskin Creek
• Dry Creek North of Cowskin Creek

To detemine if you may be impacted by revisons to the FEMA flood maps, go to the State of Kansas web mapping site.

ALERT System
To get real time and historical stream and rainfall data, go to Stream & Rainfall Gauges

Regulatory & Permit&Documents
To review the Stormwater Ordinances, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Stormwater Manual,policies, and developement processes go to Regulatory & Permit Documents

RTK Base Reference Stations
To get information about the Network, go to Base Reference Stations

Watersheds (Planning, Design and Construction)
To get information on Watershed, go toWatersheds.

Stormwater Quality
To learn about stormwater quality in Wichita and Sedgwick County, go to Stormwater Quality.

Drainage & Floodplain Questions
To get answers to some frequently asked questions, go to Answers.

Grass Clippings Notice
To learn about what to do with your yard waste, go to Grass Clippings.

Mobile Wash Policy
To learn more about our Mobile Wash Policy, go to Mobile Wash.

Private Project Procedures
To view the new stormwater guidelines for private projects, go to Pamphlet.

Draining Swimming Pool Water
To view recommended procedures for draining swimming pools go to Pools.

Miscellaneous Documents

• USGS Cowskin Flood Watch
• NWS Cowskin Flood Prediction
• National Weather Service Forecast Center - Wichita
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Frequently Asked Questions
• Cheney Reservoir Elevation
• Cheney Flood Control Storages
• NWS River Forecast Center, Arkansas-Red Basin

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