Storm Drain System

The content of this page will provide guidance through the Storm Drain System approval process for subdivisions, Conditional Use Permits (CUP), and single lots or any other project where Storm Drain System is proposed for ultimate public maintenance.



First Time Visitors

FAQ's

A Storm Drain System is a drainage system which is designed to drain excess rainwater runoff from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, roads, sidewalks, and roofs and directs that excess runoff to an appropriate disposal point.
To confirm that the proposed Storm Drain System is in conformance with local codes and regulations. An approved storm drain plan is required prior to issuance of a flood control permit and prior to any transfer of the Storm Drain System to Los Angeles County Flood Control Districts (LACFCD).
During the hydrology phase of your project, you will determine whether you need a Storm Drain System. If your site requires installation of storm drains to transport flow through your site and downstream of your site, you will be required to get an approved storm drain plan.
Once a hydrology has been approved by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works for your site, you may submit storm drain plans with supporting documents and fees through the EPIC LA e-review portal. Once the plans and supporting documents are found satisfactory, the County will issue a storm drain plan approval.
For unincorporated area, the storm drain plan approval process is conducted by Land Development Division. All files are submitted electronically through the EPIC-LA e-portal.

 


STORM DRAIN PLAN APPROVAL PROCESS

Most Storm Drain Systems have planning and zoning implications and, accordingly at the beginning stage, you must obtain approval from the Department of Regional Planning for your proposed land use before you can commence the construction of the storm drain. To learn more about the planning stage process with the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning, click here.


STORM DRAIN PLAN PREPARATION


TYPICAL STORM DRAIN PLAN
Below are some tips and tools to help in preparing the storm drain plan.

  • Please note, storm drain plans can only be prepared by a California Registered Civil Engineers
  • The first sheet of the storm drain plans must include the following:
    • Border sheet
    • General notes
    • Benchmark
    • Scaled drawings: use engineering scale (1"=40' or larger) and provide graphical scale
    • Sheet size: typical sizes are 24" x 36" and 36" x 48". Please note that this is ultimately for hard copies only but gives guidance in indexing the sheets for digital use as well.
    • Vicinity map: show the nearest major cross streets and Thomas Guide page and grid numbers
    • Statements: add only the applicable statements to the plan
    • Title blocks for: civil engineer, geotechnical consultant, surveyor, owner / developer, etc.


REFERENCE MATERIALS

Below are links to useful references if you have detailed questions regarding Storm Drain System.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Drainage@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

STORM DRAIN PLAN SUBMITTAL


In order to properly process your submittal and to facilitate your plan review, please submit all of the applicable items below. It is our policy to review only completed submittals. Submittals that are not complete or do not contain the necessary references, documents, or supporting calculations may be delayed or rejected. All documents should be submitted electronically, using PDF form, to https://epicla.lacounty.gov/SelfService/#/home. If you have already formally submitted a plan check package in the past and you wish to upload revised documents, you must resubmit to e-reviews under the existing plan case. For questions regarding this checklist, please contact the appropriate plan checking unit at (626) 458-4930.


APPLICATION

To submit your storm drain plan for review, upload your plans and supporting information online (link below).

Submit my plans


FEES

You can pay the plan check review fees in person or online using e-check / credit card (for charges less than $50,000.00). After you have submitted your plans for review, your plan checker will create a fee invoice where you can pay the fee online.

For your convenience, our fee schedule and cost and bond estimating spreadsheets are available below. Please note that the plan check fee covers up to 5 reviews of the storm drain plan submittal. Additional fees will be required after the 5th submittal.

Fee Schedule and Bond Estimate


PAPERLESS SUBMITTALS
We've been processing paperless plan review since 2013! Accordingly, you can submit all of your improvement plans and supporting documents online at the link provided above. To see a typical list of all supporting documents that are required for obtaining storm drain plan approval, here is a Storm Drain Submittal Check List:

At a minimum, we require the items listed below to begin reviewing your storm drain plans:

  • Storm Drain plan
  • Plan check fee (see above)
  • Approved planning documents
  • Approved hydrology study

Resubmittals will be required to address any corrections needed on the storm drain plan.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Drainage@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

STORM DRAIN PLAN REVIEW & APPROVAL


REVIEW PROCESS
For each plan submittal, a check print showing plan check comments and a corrections list will be generated and sent to the applicant who submitted the plans. These documents will address deficiencies in the plan and inform you of supporting documents that are needed in order to obtain storm drain plan approval. The following are links to resubmit your plans and to some documents that you should find useful during the storm drain plan review:

Resubmit my plans


AGENCY APPROVALS

Before your storm drain plan can be approved you will need to approach various jurisdictional agencies for their approval of a permit or letter stating they have no jurisdiction over your project. Below are links for some of those agencies.


STORM DRAIN PLAN APPROVAL AND CONNECTION AND/OR INSPECTION PERMIT
As soon as your drainage plan is approved, the storm drain plan checker will create an approval package for your project. The approval package will contain versions of your plans with County stamp and signature as well as all supporting documents for the storm drain plan. The approval package will be uploaded as a public document in the EPICLA system and you need to apply for and obtain the connection and/or inspection permit.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER STORM DRAIN PLAN APPROVAL?
Once the Storm Drain Plan is approved and the Permit Section of LDD permit is issued, you must continue processing improvement plans until you obtain all plan approvals and the necessary permits to finish constructing your project.

After 2 years from the date that the storm drain plan is approved, unless the subdivision map expires, the approval expires. If your storm drain plan expires before you pull the connection and/or inspection permit, you'll need to submit a new storm drain plan with supporting documents for review and approval. If your storm plan was approved in 2014 or after, we will have all of the supporting documents stored digitally. However, some approvals by other agencies may be expired and would need to be renewed.

As construction progresses, site conditions may warrant design changes to the approved storm drain plans. It is the responsibility of the permittee to inform the Drainage Section storm drain plan check engineer of these changes and provide revised storm drain plans for approval prior to proceeding with the changes. If you need to submit revised storm drain plans for review and approval, click below.

Submit revised plans

Finally, with an approved storm drain plan, you're closer to recording your final map. Most, if not all, storm drain clearance items for the final map are usually handled during the storm drain plan review process. Storm Drain final map clearance will be issued after completing all final map requirements for storm drain, either with or after the storm drain plan approval.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Drainage@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm




FREQUENTY ASKED QUESTIONS

All storm drain plan need to be prepared, stamped, and signed by a State of California registered Civil Engineer.
Project requiring Storm Drain improvements may be subject to Zoning Code requirements. In that case, you need approvals from the proper agencies, including the Department of Regional Planning.
Submit a storm drain/flood permit application to the Permit Section of Land Development Division along with the approved storm drain plan, any other required documents, and the appropriate fees.

Storm Drain/Flood application link:
http://dpw.lacounty.gov/ldd/lib/forms/Flood%20Permit%20Application.pdf

Permit Online Portal link:
http://dpw.lacounty.gov/ldd/lddservices/floodPermits.shtml
Storm Drain plans are valid for a total of 2 years. After 2 years, plans need to be reapproved.
You'll need to submit a revised storm drain plan with supporting documents, if required by Land Development Division, for review and approval. Some approvals by other agencies may need to be renewed prior to reactivation. Supporting documents that may be required are approved hydrology, approved soils and geology reports, and approved hydraulic calculations etc.
There are some Master Drainage Plans located at our Right of Way counter on the 10th Floor of our Headquarters Building available for public use. Additional hydrology information about Flood Control District maintained facilities can be obtained from our Design Division located on the 6th Floor. For PDs and MTDs Storm Drain System, information can be obtained in our Land Development Division located on the 3rd Floor. Our Headquarters Building is located at 900 South Fremont Avenue in the City of Alhambra.
The Los Angeles County Storm Drain System is available on-line at http://dpw.lacounty.gov/fcd/stormdrain. This viewer shows the Los Angeles County Flood Control District facilities, some of the Army Corps of Engineers facilities, and certain drains within some Cities.