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Developers, officials to combat stormwater regulations

In this file photo, workers from Marion Environmental Inc. and the Chattanooga Public Works Department aerate polluted water on the South Chickamauga Creek in 2014.
In this file photo, workers from Marion Environmental Inc. and the Chattanooga Public Works Department aerate polluted water on the South Chickamauga Creek in 2014. In this file photo, workers from Marion Environmental Inc. and the Chattanooga Public Works Department aerate polluted water on the South Chickamauga Creek in 2014.

By Myron Madden 5 min read

South Chickamauga Creek Watershed

Covering 45,122 acres of land, the South Chickamauga Creek basin is the largest of Chattanooga’s eight watersheds. It extends beyond Chattanooga into Georgia.Areas within the watershed: Brainerd, East Brainerd and Missionary RidgeProminent roadways in watershed: Shallowford Road, East Brainerd Road, Bonny Oaks Drive, Harrison Pike, Lee Highway and Gunbarrel RoadHigh traffic commercial areas within watershed: Hamilton Place and Chattanooga AirportMost prevalent pollutants: Pathogens and siltationSource: Chattanooga Public Works, Engineering Division

photo Chattanooga Watershed Legend (Contributed photo by Chattanooga Public Works Department)

Local developers and Chattanooga City Council candidates representing East Hamilton are hoping to reverse a 2014 regulation they say has restricted growth throughout the area.

The regulation, adopted under Mayor Andy Berke’s administration, requires developers designing sites larger than 1 acre within the South Chickamauga Creek watershed to retain the first 1.6 inches of rainfall on the property to prevent it from carrying pollutants into the creek and, ultimately, the Tennessee River.

The stream is on a federal list of polluted waterways due to sediment impairment, as well as for habitat alteration.

However, state guidelines set by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency only call for a 1-inch retention, and some say the additional 0.6 inch has already turned business away from the area.