Water Quality Facilities can include:
- Catch basin inserts
- Detention basins
- Enhanced swales
- Stormwater Ponds
- Wetlands
- Bioretention areas
- Sand filters
- Infiltration trenches
- Filter strips
- Grass Channels
- Porous Pavers / Pavement
Owners of water quality facilities are required to fulfill the requirements in their Maintenance Agreements and the associated Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan. Doing a title search on your property will tell you if you have a Maintenance Agreement associated with the site. You main obtain a copy of your Maintenance Agreement and O&M Plan by contacting Knox County Stormwater Management at 865-215-5540.
The Maintenance Agreement is a contract between Knox County and the property owner. The O&M plan specifies how each water quality facility, or stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP), must be maintained. Each BMP has its own O&M criteria. Proprietary units, or gadgets that help to remove sediment from stormwater runoff, generally have more extensive O&M specifications; whereas certain low-impact development BMPs, like grassy swales, may only require semi-annual inspections and removal of debris.
The Maintenance Agreement is required for any development 1 acre or larger in Knox County.
As of 2008 (as part of the mandated MS4 Phase II conditions), Maintenance Agreements require that all new developments include water quality facilities. All of these water quality facilities are designed to remove 80% of the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in the stormwater runoff from the site. Water quality facilities are the responsibility of the property owner and should be maintained by the property owner.
Water quality facilities ultimately help to reduce flooding in local areas and reduce the amount of sediment that enters into local waterways.
This document will help you better understand how to maintain water quality facilities on your property or in your neighborhood. This is a general guidance document. If you have a Maintenance Agreement and associated O&M Plan for your property, please refer to that document for your requirements.
Water quality facilities are never owned or maintained by Knox County.
Doing a title search on your property will tell you if you have a Maintenance Agreement associated with the site. You main obtain a copy of your Maintenance Agreement and O&M Plan by contacting Knox County Stormwater Management at 865-215-5540.
