Maintenance Responsibility

The responsibility for maintaining these stormwater facilities is divided among homeowners, neighborhood associations, commercial property owners, the Township, and state authorities as follows:

• Roof and Foundation Drains: These drains, along with the gutters, spouts and pipes which connect them to the community’s storm sewer system, are the homeowner’s responsibility.
• Driveway Pipes and Culverts: These are typically the homeowner’s responsibility.
• Drainage Ditches: These are generally the responsibility of the homeowners association unless the ditch is specifically designated as a public or municipal drainage easement.
• Pipes and Culverts Underneath Roadways: The owner of the road assumes responsibility for these facilities. On private roads, or in newer plans where the roads have not yet been accepted by the Township, it is the responsibility of the homeowners or developers. On public roads, it is the responsibility of either the Township, County, or State.
• Clearing Debris and Erosion Along Stream Channels: Removing debris from local streams to keep them flowing in their channels is generally the responsibility of the landowner(s) whose property abuts or is traversed by that stream. Note, however, that repair of erosion on large streams, such as building channel walls, may require a state permit.
• Catch Basins: The owner of the road along which catch basins are situated is responsible for their maintenance. That could be either the Township, PennDOT, the plan developer, or the owners of a private roadway or parking lot where basins are installed.
• Detention Facilities: Detention ponds in residential plans are typically the responsibility of the neighborhood’s homeowners' association. Detention facilities in non-residential areas are normally the responsibility of the private establishments they serve. Developers are responsible for detention pond maintenance in newly developing plans until they are turned over to the homeowners' association.