Jasper stormwater board eyes cemetery project, future sewer repairs

Jasper’s stormwater board is looking first at a cemetery project, with City Engineer Chad Hurm also flagging possible storm sewer work on the Patoka shelf by the Mill and, if funding allows, on 2nd Street and St. Charles Street. For homeowners and property owners, the message was clear: drainage problems become more expensive when they are left to spread.

The Jasper Stormwater Management Board, coordinated by the Engineering Department, includes Roger Messmer as chairman, Brady Albright as vice-chairman and Greg Kuntz as secretary. Chad Mundy serves as stormwater coordinator and used the May meeting to walk through both the city’s infrastructure needs and the quieter job of keeping trash, sediment and pollutants out of the drainage system before they reach local waters.

Mundy presented seven ERUs from April, and all seven were approved. He also reported that seven permitted sites were on the IDEM monthly report and had all been inspected. At Jasper High School, work continued to stabilize the north bank and get temporary seeding in place, a small but important step in keeping soil from washing into drains and streams during heavy rain.

The board also reviewed an illicit-discharge complaint tied to a property on 15th Street. Mundy said several outreach attempts had not yet resolved the issue, underscoring how the stormwater department has to pair education with enforcement when runoff or dumping threatens the system. The annual IDEM report was submitted ahead of an audit scheduled for August 19, and that audit will cover most of the department’s work except construction and post-construction elements. The Street Department will also be reviewed to make sure pollutants are not entering the stormwater system.

That compliance work sits inside Jasper’s Stormwater Quality Management Plan and the state’s MS4 permit framework, which requires public education and outreach, public participation, illicit-discharge detection and elimination, construction-site runoff control, pollution prevention and good housekeeping, and post-construction runoff control. IDEM says those programs are meant to reduce polluted stormwater runoff that can carry contaminants from roads, drains and other municipal conveyances into waters of the state.

Mundy said the department is trying to reach residents through public education as well. The Earth Day event at Memorial Hospital drew a good turnout, Jasper Middle School’s science event on May 15 gave eighth graders a look at water sources and environmental factors, and Jasper High School Field Day included presentations at the Parklands of Jasper, the city’s 75-acre urban renewal project. Officials are also looking at the Riverside Drive project and whether it could qualify for DNR 80/20 grant funding if concerns are confirmed.

Residents who spot a possible illicit discharge can contact Mundy at 812-482-4255, or call 812-639-1197 after hours. The board’s work showed how Jasper is trying to prevent clogged drains, water-quality problems and bigger repair bills before they hit city streets and taxpayers later.