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Robert Chandler
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Stormwater Master Plan Update

Update: On October 12, 2020, the first phase of amendments to the Stormwater Master Plan was adopted by City Council. Please visit the Master Plan page to view the adopted Stormwater Master Plan amendments and basin plans for Battle Creek, Pringle Creek, and Mill Creek.

Mill Creek The City’s original Stormwater Master Plan contains goals, objectives, and policies that guide how Salem can address challenges with stormwater runoff. Computer modeling has helped identify problem areas and provide recommendations in the plan to reduce flooding risks and other impacts.

The current plan was adopted by City Council in 2000. Since then, Salem’s population has grown, our urban landscape has been altered, and urban stormwater management practices have improved. For these reasons, the City has embarked on a long-term, multi-phase project to update Salem’s Stormwater Master Plan.

Salem’s Approach to Stormwater Master Planning

The Stormwater Master Plan will not be updated as a single effort as it was in 2000. The earliest phase of this project will establish the plan’s framework as follows:

Update information on the citywide planning area
Set comprehensive goals and policies
Identify the information needs for individual stormwater drainage basins
Determine hydraulic and hydrologic modeling methods

This framework will set the foundation for individual stormwater drainage basin plans that will be developed over time. The first update of the Stormwater Master Plan that will be submitted to Council will contain the results of three new basin plans:

Battle Creek
Pringle Creek
Mill Creek

The Stormwater Master Plan will then be updated as new basin plans are completed. Once this process has finished, the plans can be reviewed and updated as needed.

Contents of the Stormwater Master Plan

The Stormwater Master Plan includes the following elements.

Introduction and Background

Includes a description of the planning area, a review of stormwater regulations, a brief history of flooding and stormwater master planning in Salem, and an inventory of stormwater facilities.

Comprehensive Goals and Policies

Goals and policies are organized under categories such as Capital Improvement Planning, Stormwater Quantity and Quality, and Flood Risk Reduction. The goals and policies apply citywide and are designed to guide decisions regarding stormwater programs and projects.

Stormwater Facilities Plan

This identifies future stormwater capital projects necessary to support the land uses designated in Salem’s Comprehensive Plan. The projects are derived from the basin plans and include estimates of costs and recommended timeframes for construction.

Financial Plan

Describes the main sources of funding for stormwater services and provides a forecast of operating and capital project budgets.

Basin Plans

The Stormwater Master Plan includes summaries of nine basin plans, with the newly completed basin plans serving as technical supplements to the master plan. Each basin plan describes the basin, summarizes modeling methodologies, and identifies facilities needed to accommodate current conditions and future growth. Facilities specified in each basin plan are collectively compiled in the Stormwater Facilities Plan.

Supporting Information

Studies and reports used to develop the Stormwater Master Plan are referenced. Appendices are provided that contain modeling and basin planning methodologies, rainfall analysis, and other key supporting information used to produce the Stormwater Master Plan.

Stormwater Drainage Basins

The 2000 Stormwater Master Plan evaluated 12 stormwater drainage basins, but concluded additional stormwater infrastructure was not required to accommodate current and future growth in three basins—Lower Claggett Creek, Pettijohn Laurel Creek, and Willamette Slough basins—a conclusion that will be carried forward in the updated Stormwater Master Plan.

Draft basin plans for Battle Creek, Mill Creek, and Pringle Creek have been completed. The order of progression for completing plans for the remaining six basins listed below.

Glenn Gibson Basin
West Bank Basin (Willamette River)
Upper Claggett Creek Basin
Croisan Creek Basin
Little Pudding Basin
East Bank Basin (Willamette River)

Additional Resources