Stormwater Master Plan

The revised draft Stormwater Master Plan is now available for review and comment. The City of Bend has been working this spring to finalize its first formal Stormwater Master Plan. The Stormwater Master Plan establishes goals and potential solutions to address stormwater quantity and quality issues and needs within the City.

Stormwater is the runoff from hard surfaces such as rooftops, walkways and the streets after a rain storm. In Bend, stormwater either flows to the Deschutes River through our storm drain system or into the ground towards our underground drinking water through dry wells and drill holes.

The City released a public draft of the Stormwater Master Plan in 2008 but decided not to finalize it until receiving an initial permit for underground injection controls (dry wells and drill holes) from the state Department of Environmental Quality in May 2013.

The revisions in the current draft are significant. The City is no longer proposing a piped system. The new, more flexible approaches proposed allow for more targeted improvements and significantly reduced up-front costs. Whereas the 2008 draft estimated 20-year improvement costs of $172-$214 Million in large part due to anticipated regulatory requirements, the revised draft anticipates improvements costs of $25 Million over the same time period.

The City held two public workshops in April to collect input on proposed infrastructure improvement approaches. The results were taken to the City Council in May for input on a preferred approach, and a full revised draft is now available for more public comment. The City Council is expected to consider the plan in July.

For more information on the Stormwater Master Plan including a copy of the revised draft for review and a comment form, please visit the City’s website at: bendoregon.gov/stormwatermp, or contact Wendy Edde, Stormwater Program Manager at (541) 317-3018 or wedde@bendoregon.gov.