Glendale, AZ Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- City Manager / Development Services
- Civil penalty
- Up to $2,500 per day per violation
- Criminal penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor for knowing violations
- Spill reporting
- Phone within 24 hours, written report in 5 days
- Governing law
- City Code Article VI, § 33-290 et seq.
Summary
Glendale bans any non-storm water discharge into the public storm drain system unless it's exempted or covered by a separate NPDES or AZPDES permit. City Code Article VI implements the City's own AZPDES storm water permit, and the City Manager enforces prohibitions on dumping, spills, and unauthorized connections to catch basins, curbs, gutters, and dry wells citywide.
(a)Unless expressly authorized or exempted by this Article, no person shall cause or allow the release to a public right-of-way or public storm drain system of any substance that is not composed entirely of storm water.(b)Unless expressly authorized or exempted by this Article, no person shall use, store, spill, dump, or dispose of materials in a manner that could cause or contribute to the addition of pollutants to storm water.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 115).
Full Breakdown
Section 33-300 forbids anyone from causing or allowing a release to a public right-of-way or the public storm drain system of any substance not composed entirely of storm water, and separately forbids using, storing, spilling, dumping, or disposing of materials in a way that could add pollutants to storm water. A list of exempt discharges exists, covering things like landscape irrigation, individual residential car washing, air conditioning condensate, and firefighting flows, but the City can still order an exempt discharger to stop if it identifies the discharge as a pollutant source under Section 33-300(d).
Section 33-301 requires anyone whose activity may put pollutants into the storm drain system to adopt Best Management Practices, and the City Manager (or a designee) administers and enforces the whole article under Section 33-291. Anyone who discovers a discharge that could send pollutants into the storm drain system must, per Section 33-304, call the City within 24 hours (or by noon the next business day if discovered on a weekend or holiday, or 9-1-1 for a public safety issue) and follow up with a written report within five days identifying the source, extent, pollutant, and cleanup steps.
The City may clean up the discharge itself and bill the responsible party the full cost. Inspectors have a right of entry under Section 33-310 to sample and monitor compliance, including immediate access without notice during an emergency, and the City may seek an administrative search warrant from Glendale Municipal Court if access is refused.
Violations & Fines
Under Section 33-313, a violator is civilly liable to the City for up to $2,500 per day for each violation, on top of reimbursing fines the City itself pays to ADEQ or EPA. Section 33-314 makes a knowing unauthorized discharge a class 1 misdemeanor. The City may also treat a violation as a public nuisance under Section 18-4(b) and seek an injunction, and each day of noncompliance counts as a separate violation under Section 33-316.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle stormwater management.