Stormwater Management Facility Inspections

1. Overview

Stormwater management facilities (SWMF) are structures that control the quantity or quality of stormwater. All county-mandated facilities require regular inspection and maintenance, including:

• Planter Boxes
• Microbioretention (Rain Gardens)
• Permeable Paver Driveways
• Detention Tanks
• Infiltration Trenches
• Dry Wells
• Other stormwater control measures (SCMs) or best management practices (BMPs)

How often do I need to inspect my stormwater facilities? 

• Single family homeowners must submit inspection reports every other year.
• Commercial owners and homeowner associations must submit inspection reports every year.

If you complete inspection and maintenance on time for all facilities, you will receive an automatic credit on your stormwater utility fee.

• Single family homeowner inspection and stormwater credit is valid for two years.
• If you own a single-family home and you received stormwater utility credit last year, you do not need to submit inspection forms again this year. You will automatically receive the credit again this year. 

If you received an inspection notification letter in September 2024, you must submit a complete inspection report and complete all required maintenance by November 30, 2024. (Please note that some 2024 letters incorrectly stated that the deadline is 11/30/2023).

• Submit your inspection report early to allow time for staff to review and for you to complete any follow-up actions that are needed.
• We recommend submitting your inspection report by October 5 and being prepared to complete any required maintenance by November 5.
• We cannot guarantee your inspection report will be processed and approved for credit eligibility if you submit after November 5. This is due both to the large volume of submissions and because you may need to submit additional information and/or conduct maintenance.

Go to the Stormwater Inspection Form

2. First Time You’ve Submitted Inspection Forms?

1. Keep the letter from the County. You will need the facility IDs listed on the letter.  If you lost your letter, you can locate your stormwater management facility IDs using your address(PDF, 982KB) . Alternatively, you can send a request for another copy to stormwaterinspection@arlingtonva.us and a PDF of the letter will be emailed to you within a few business days.
2. Review the links in the photo guidance. Become familiar with the photos that are required for the submittal.
3. Go outside and inspect your facility(s). If maintenance is necessary, complete the maintenance. If possible, use a mobile device to complete the inspection report so you can look at the facility while answering the questions.  If you don’t have a mobile device, photograph the facility in detail using a digital camera. Reference the photos later while completing the inspection form online.
4. Did you forget a photo? Were you interrupted before you could complete the form? You can save and complete the inspection at a later time.  Use the link provided in the email from donotreply@arlingtonva.us to go back to the form that you saved.

3. How to Complete the Online Inspection Forms

You will receive a letter in September with your facility IDs and whether you are required to complete an inspection this year. Once the inspection period opens, the steps to complete the inspection are: 

1. Go to the online form(s) for the facilities on your property. The letter from the County lists the facilities that are on your property. Find your facilities using your address.(PDF, 982KB)
2. Complete the entire online form, attach the proper photos, and sign the online form. After submitting or saving the form, your browser will automatically return to the main County website.  You will receive an email confirming that the County has received your inspection form submission. If you saved the form, you will receive an email confirming that you have saved your form.
3. The submittal (online form and photos) will be reviewed by County staff (typically within a couple of business days). Staff will send an email with the results of the review. Your submission is not complete until you receive an email entitled “Complete”. Save the “Complete” email in your records. If you manage multiple facilities, you must receive an individual "Complete" email for each of your facilities to be considered in good standing. 
4. If you receive an email with “Incomplete” in the subject line, there is an issue with your submittal and resubmittal is required. Use the link in the email to access your form to address the outstanding items that were described in the email by the required date.

Don't Have an Email Address?

Request hardcopy forms at 703-228-4245. Provide your facility IDs and your address with your request. The forms will be mailed within seven business days of the request. Plan accordingly.

Unsure About the Facility Location?

There is a description of the facility location in the letter from the County. The description is from the point of view of facing the front of the house, with your back to the street.

4. How-To Videos for Completing the Online Form

Check out the how-to videos for your planter box, permeable paver, infiltration trench, and detention tank inspection below.

Planter Box:

Permeable Pavement:

Infiltration Trench:

Detention Tank:

5. Photo Guidance

When you submit your inspection report, you are required to include certain photos. Click on the descriptions below to see example photos for each type.   

Bioretention and planter boxes: three (3) photos are required

1. Close-up photo of the inflow/downspout discharge and splash block/rocks(JPG, 146KB)
2. Facility’s location with the home or building in the background(JPEG, 224KB)
3. Ponding depth (including a ruler) for planter box or ponding depth (including a ruler) for microbioretention(JPEG, 183KB)

Permeable pavement: two (2) photos are required

1. Overall photo of the entire driveway or parking lot(JPEG, 3MB). Make sure there are no parked cars covering the permeable pavement. 
2. Close-up photo of pavement(JPEG, 4MB) showing approximately 10 pavers in the whole photo. 

Infiltration trenches: two (2) photos are required

1. Close-up of the observation well with the cap removed(JPEG, 683KB)
2. Facility’s location with the home or building in the background(JPEG, 5MB)

Dry wells: two (2) photos are required

1. Overall of yard showing the location of the pop-up emitter in relation to the house
2. Photograph of the downspout where it goes underground to connect to dry well.(JPG, 22KB)

Tanks:  three (3) photos are required

1. Overall photo of the tank with the building in the background(PNG, 500KB)
2. Photo of the inflow for the tank(JPG, 182KB)
3. Photo of the outflow(JPG, 134KB)

6. Infiltration Trench: Inspect 3 Days After Heavy Rain

If you have an infiltration trench, you will need to do your inspection three days after a heavy rainfall, or more than 1/2 inch of rain.

Not sure how much rain fell? Check the rain data for the last three days from Reagan National Airport.  

7. Want to Make Changes to Your Facility?

Send an email to StormwaterInspection@arlingtonva.us with your address (and facility ID if you have it) describing the changes you would like to make.

Generally:

• Substitutions of plant material (1 shrub for 1 shrub) using the Native Plants for Bioretention list do not require any type of approval. Just include a comment in the notes text box at the bottom of the online annual inspection form regarding what plants were removed/added.
• Changes to the size, location, and type of facility will require a grading plan revision.  As the owner of the facility, you can request a copy of the original grading plan to give to your contractor.  Prior to beginning work, the contractor will need to submit a professionally sealed (landscape architect, land surveyor, or professional engineer) updated grading plan for review and approval by Arlington County Department of Environmental Services. Major changes, which involve land disturbance greater than 2,500 square feet, will require a Land Disturbing Activity Permit (LDA).

8. What’s “Pretreatment”? 

Pretreatment is the small structure that water enters before entering the stormwater management facility. These structures are designed to capture sediment and debris before the stormwater enters the facility. Some facilities have pretreatment, others do not. Your letter will tell you whether you have pretreatment or not. The following are examples of the different types of pretreatment.

Sump Pit Pretreatment Examples:

Stone Diaphragm Pretreatment Examples:

Grass Filter Strip Pretreatment Example:

Forebay Pretreatment Example:

Trench Drain Pretreatment Example:

9. Who Can Inspect and Complete Maintenance for My Stormwater Management Facility?

***Information in this column refers to who can complete the routine maintenance. Capital maintenance or overhaul of the facility might require other specialties. If you need assistance finding a contractor, refer to the suggestions in the "Maintenance Guidance" section below.

10. Maintenance Guidance

• Permeable Pavement – How to clean clogged permeable pavers
• Permeable Pavement Maintenance Fact Sheet(PDF, 2MB)
• Microbioretention Maintenance Fact Sheet(PDF, 4MB)
• Planter Box Maintenance Fact Sheet(PDF, 2MB)
• Approved Plant List for Bioretention and Planter Boxes
• Dry Well Maintenance Fact Sheet(PDF, 13MB)
• Detention Tank Maintenance Fact Sheet(PDF, 1MB)

Stormwater Management Facility Maintenance Contractors (Note that these lists are not comprehensive nor a recommendation of any particular vendor):

• Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals
• Fairfax County Maintenance Contractor List