The Stormwater Management Regulatory Division primary role is to oversee implementation of the City’s MS4 permit issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This division also implements the stormwater utility fee discount program, performs water quality evaluations, and supports cost participation efforts for installation of stormwater management facilities to reduce stormwater pollutants in our waterways.

The DEQ performs surface water quality monitoring throughout the City and analyzes it to determine if the water quality meets set standards and is clean enough for swimming, fishing, and other uses. Eighteen streams in Virginia Beach are designated as “impaired” meaning that the water is not clean enough to support these uses.

Regulations and permit requirements designed to improve these impaired streams can be found on the Stormwater Regulations page. Impaired waters are identified and assigned a "pollution diet" called a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which identifies the maximum amount of various types of pollutants (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) that can be released into the impaired waters. 

The City partners with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to support its Sustainable Water Initiatives for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project. SWIFT will reduce nutrient and sediment discharges from wastewater treatment facilities and help recharge the aquifer. Through an agreement with local municipalities, these nutrient and sediment reductions will be applied toward Chesapeake Bay TMDL goals.

In addition, the City participates in the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS’s) Hampton Roads Regional Water Quality Monitoring Project, a regional long-term water quality monitoring program for small urban watersheds intended to aid in calibrating regulatory models and decision making.

Other participating municipalities include Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. The program is facilitated in coordination and partnership with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC).