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Throughout 2008 and into 2009, Community Development staff
worked with a committee on the comprehensive review and
amendment to Chapter 2 of the Design Standards Manual (DSM),
dealing with drainage and stormwater management. The DSM
Committee consisted of private sector engineering design
firms that work in Fauquier County, as well as surrounding
counties. In addition, each firm is a current member of the
Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI). The content of the
final document was developed through consensus and received
unanimous recommendation from the DSM Committee.
The most significant change in Chapter 2 is the removal of
the Northern Virginia BMP Handbook as one of the design
criteria. The Northern Virginia BMP Handbook was originally
adopted for use by communities with drainage into the
Occoquan Reservoir. Since over 1/3 of Fauquier County
drains into the Occoquan, the decision was made with the
adoption of the stormwater management ordinance in 2002 to
apply these standards to the entire county. Thus, they were
adopted in conjunction with the Virginia Stormwater
Management Handbook (VSMH). With this change, stormwater
management ponds will only be designed to the VSMH
standards, consistent with the majority of Virginia
communities. This eliminates the often confusing
application of two diverse sets of standards.
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