New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer signed an ordinance Thursday to help mitigate water pollution and flooding across the county.
The ordinance updates the county’s drainage standards for new and redeveloped properties with the aim of keeping potentially harmful runoff from making its way into waterways.
Meyer says it will help reduce pollution for both new construction and redevelopment projects throughout the county.
“If you look in our waterways, there is crazy pollution that needs to be dealt with," said Meyer. "That needs to be dealt with through things like the Water Fund that the governor and the state set up.”
Meyer says while the state requires a 15 percent reduction for runoff for any redevelopment project, this ordinance boosts it to 50 percent for most sites across New Castle County.
“And this is critical because it cuts off a major source of pollution, and that is runoff from impervious surfaces across our county. It gives incentives for developers to come in and redevelop sites without the pollution going into our waterways. And hopefully makes life a little safer.”
The ordinance is part of Meyer’s GreeNCC initiative to create sound environmental policies and protect natural resources.
