Chester has adopted a new stormwater ordinance to regulate discharges to the town’s storm drainage system.

The ordinance establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the storm drainage system in order to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process.

“We want to ensure that we do whatever we can to keep our water supply clean and clear,” First Selectman Lauren Gister said. “This ordinance makes the rules and regulations clear.”

The ordinance, which was adopted at the special town meeting on Feb. 7, brings the town into compliance with state regulations requiring a stormwater ordinance in each municipality. Gister said the town will regularly monitor stormwater pollutants in town.

“Basically, this gives us some ability to enforce stormwater drainage violations and brings awareness to the fact that people need to be conscious of what they are washing down into the drains because it affects our watershed in town,” said Gister.

Chester’s ordinance is similar to those in surrounding towns, all which have the goal of ensuring that unfavorable substances such as fertilizer, harsh cleaning solutions and other toxic substances are not going into the stormwaters drains.

“In the instance there are violations of this ordinance we will be assessing the situation, there will be education before punishment, warnings and there could be fines,” said Gister, pointing out that Chester has a holistic view of the environment and the town works hard to remain environmentally aware.

“We are hoping that now that this ordinance is on the books, it will act as an opportunity to remind our residents to be more aware, to think about what is going into our watershed and how that will affect our environment, our town and our residents.”

Find the full text of the ordinance on the town website chesterct.org.