Syracuse, NY Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 27's article on property maintenance requirements opens its 'Open areas' section with drainage. Section 27-72(a) states that storm water shall be properly drained to prevent recurrent entrance of water into any basement or cellar, making repeat basement flooding a maintenance violation rather than something an owner can wait out. Section 27-72(b) broadens the duty to the whole lot: surface and subsurface water must be appropriately drained to protect buildings and structures and to prevent development of stagnant ponds, and it lists the accepted methods, gutters, culverts, catch basins, drain inlets, storm water sewers, and approved combined storm and sanitary sewers, to be utilized where deemed necessary.

The Division of Code Enforcement, the administering agency Section 27-111 designates, enforces the section through its general inspection power in Section 27-113 and issues a written notice under Section 27-114 specifying the drainage defect and a compliance deadline, typically 15 days absent an emergency. Because the standard covers both surface pooling and subsurface seepage into basements, it reaches everything from a clogged gutter dumping water against a foundation to a low spot in a yard that never dries after rain.