Grand Prairie, TX Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

The city's MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) article, adopted to keep Grand Prairie in compliance with the Clean Water Act and its Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit under section 13-600, applies to anyone who discharges or is reasonably expected to discharge into the MS4, including the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction and any location within 1,000 feet of the city, per section 13-601. Section 13-604(a) allows only stormwater into the MS4, with narrow exceptions such as firefighting water, unpolluted landscape irrigation runoff, and residential vehicle washing; anyone wanting to discharge anything else must get the director's written authorization at least five days in advance.

Section 13-605 then lists specific banned substances and activities: used motor oil and antifreeze, industrial and hazardous waste, septic and grease-trap waste, commercial carwash or power-washing wastewater, cooling-tower blow-down, livestock-pen runoff exceeding two hundred cfu/100 mL fecal coliform, paint, and construction sediment, among nineteen enumerated categories. For active construction, section 13-606 requires a TPDES permit, a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWP3), and a construction site notice before work starts, plus best management practices installed before construction begins; sites disturbing five or more acres must file a notice of intent at least two days ahead, and qualified personnel must inspect the site every seven days and within twenty-four hours of any half-inch rain event.

Section 13-611 grants the city a right of entry to inspect for compliance, and section 13-615 lets the regulatory authority seek a search warrant if access is refused.