Stormwater Service

SD1 provides stormwater management services to 29 cities and unincorporated portions of three counties in Northern Kentucky. We strive to manage stormwater runoff within our service area as effectively and efficiently as possible.

As Northern Kentucky developed - long before SD1 assumed control of the region’s stormwater management - cities and counties owned and maintained stormwater infrastructure, regulations were less stringent, drainage plans were not always a priority, and storm pipes were often inadequate or never formally dedicated to public ownership.

The result is a storm system that has a mix of privately and publicly owned infrastructure that can become overwhelmed by wet weather events in some areas. Depending on a neighborhood’s topography, that can lead to flood water that ends up in yards, or worse - inside homes.

When federal stormwater regulations were passed in 1999 requiring cities and counties to meet certain minimum stormwater runoff standards, community leaders felt a regional approach to federal stormwater permitting was the best solution. After several years of consideration, SD1 became a “Co-Permittee” with cities and counties across Northern Kentucky to manage stormwater drainage and administer federal stormwater permitting regulations.