Show All Answers

1. What's the difference between the sanitary sewer system and the storm sewer system?

The sanitary sewer system is a network of pipes that carries wastewater from the toilets, sinks, and bathtubs / showers in your house to the treatment plant, where the wastewater is cleaned before entering the Concord River.

The storm sewer system, or more commonly known as the storm drain, is a network of roadside ditches, gutters, and underground pipes that collects stormwater (water from rain and melting snow that flows over the ground) and carries it away from our streets, parking lots, and yards. Water enters the storm drain system through catch basin grates and exits through outfalls.

2. Where does water in the storm drain system go?

Stormwater carried by the storm drain system directly enters water bodies throughout town, including the Concord River, the Shawsheen River, Nutting Lake, and Winning Pond. Sometimes stormwater flows into wooded or wetland areas of Billerica.

3. Who will need a Stormwater Management Permit?

The following activities will require a Stormwater Management Permit from the Billerica Board of Health:

1. Any Subdivision requiring a Definitive Plan; or


2. Any activity that results in a land disturbance one acre or greater within the Town of Billerica. A land disturbance means any action that causes vegetation clearing; or a change in the position, location, or arrangement of soil, sand, rock, gravel, or similar earth material; or


3. Any activity that results in a land disturbance less than one acre if the project is part of a larger common plan of development that eventually will disturb one acre or more within the Town of Billerica. This includes Approval Not Required under Subdivision (APR) lots.

Exemptions, such as maintenance of existing landscaping, are described in the bylaw.