Manitou Springs, CO Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

01 explains why: the federal Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulates point-source pollution, and because the city's storm sewer system discharges to state waters, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued Manitou Springs its first Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit in 2003. Title 14 sets out the local rules the city must enforce to satisfy that state permit. 010. The application goes to the Planning Department and must include a Grading and Erosion Control Plan sealed by a Colorado-licensed professional engineer and a standalone Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) developed by a Qualified Stormwater Manager, both built from city checklists.

No work, not even ground disturbance, can start until the Planning Director issues a written Notice to Proceed confirming fees are paid, approvals are in place, and initial control measures are verified on site; starting early can draw an immediate Stop Work Order. Once construction begins, the owner's Qualified Stormwater Manager must self-inspect at least every fourteen days, or every seven days without a post-storm requirement, and the city separately inspects the site under its own MS4 obligations. 05 escalates enforcement from a verbal notice, to a written Notice of Noncompliance, to a Stop Work Order, to permit revocation and finally civil court action for a site that will not come into compliance.