§ 7.06.02. Specialized definitions.

The following definitions shall apply to section 7.06.00 and all subsections thereto.

Alter or alteration. Work done on a stormwater management system other than that necessary to maintain the system's original design and function.

Detention. The collection and storage of surface water for subsequent gradual discharge.

Existing. For purposes of the stormwater management provisions of this Code, the average condition immediately before development or redevelopment commences.

Impervious surface. A surface that has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water. It includes, but is not limited to, semi-impervious surfaces such as compacted clay, as well as most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and other similar structures.

Maintenance. That action taken to restore or preserve the original design and function of any stormwater management system.

Natural systems. Systems which predominantly consist of or are used by those communities of plants, animals, bacteria and other flora and fauna which occur indigenously on the land, in the soil or in the water.

Rate. Volume per unit of time.

Retention. The collection and storage of runoff without subsequent discharge to surface waters.

Runoff coefficient. Ratio of the amount of rain which runs off a surface to that which falls on it; a factor from which runoff can be calculated.

Sediment. The mineral or organic particulate material that is in suspension or has settled in surface or ground waters.

Site. Generally, any tract, lot or parcel of land or combination of tracts, lots, or parcels of land that are in one ownership, or in diverse ownership but contiguous, and which are to be developed as a single unit, subdivision, or project.

Stormwater. The flow of water which results from, and that occurs immediately following, a rainfall.

Stormwater management system. The system, or combination of systems, designed to treat stormwater, or collect, convey, channel, hold, inhibit, or divert the movement of stormwater on, through and from a site.

Stormwater runoff. That portion of the stormwater that flows from the land surface of a site either naturally, in manmade ditches, or in a closed conduit system.

Surface water. Water above the surface of the ground whether or not flowing through definite channels, including the following:

1.

Any natural or artificial pond, lake, reservoir, or other area which contains water and which has a discernible shoreline; or

2.

Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, channel, ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, street, roadway, swale or wash in which water flows in a definite direction and which has a definite flow route; or

3.

Any wetland.

Wetland. Land that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do or would support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. The term includes, but is not limited to, swamp hammocks, hardwood swamps, riverine cypress, cypress ponds, bayheads and bogs, wet prairies, and freshwater marshes.