Resources

Your Quick Guide to Community-Based Social Marketing

Author: Penn Sustainability (University of Pennsylvania) | Developed/Updated on Date: 2020

Web Link: https://www.sustainability.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/CBSM%20%20FINAL1.pdf

This guide provides a “crash course” in Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM), providing essential knowledge from Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s book Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing. Community-Based Social Marketing has been proven to be effective at fostering sustainable behavior change. Its practical approach includes five steps that are helpful for all program managers to know.

When a Bandaid’s Not Enough: Implementing Stormwater Utilities in the Great Lakes Basin

Author: American Rivers | Developed/Updated on Date: 2019

Web Link: https://www.americanrivers.org/conservation-resource/stormwater-utility-toolkit/

This Stormwater Utility Toolkit contains materials to ensure local leaders, city and county staff, and partners have the tools necessary to create a stormwater utility that is supported by the entire community. These tools are designed to give the language and structure needed for jumpstarting a public engagement process. These tools are designed to be edited and personalized to fit communities’ policies, values, and personalities.

This toolkit contains:

• A stormwater utility overview and technical resources
• A strategy for building public support for a stormwater utility
• Sample outreach materials
• Draft press release
• Social media posts
• Website language
• Tips for running successful public meetings
• Sample stormwater utility ordinance language

Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2019

Author: Western Kentucky University | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2019

Web Link: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=seas_faculty_pubs

The main goal of this survey is to identify as many U.S. Stormwater Utilities (SWUs) as possible.

Watershed-Based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Implementation Guide

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: December 2003

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/watershedpermitting_finalguidance.pdf

The purpose of this guidance is to describe the concept of and the process for watershed-based permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Watershed-based NPDES permitting is an approach to developing NPDES permits for multiple point sources located within a defined geographic area (watershed boundaries) to meet water quality standards. This approach, aimed at achieving new efficiencies and environmental results, provides a process for considering all stressors within a hydrologically defined drainage basin or other geographic area, rather than addressing individual pollutant sources on a discharge-by-discharge basis.

This guidance focuses on defining both the general approach and the process for watershed-based NPDES permitting. The guidance addresses issues related to program implementation, but it does not provide detailed technical information or address procedural and administrative actions related to permit issuance. Those will be covered in future guidance documents.

Watershed Watch

Author: Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program | Developed/Updated on Date: 2019

Web Link: http://www.mywatershedwatch.org/

The Watershed Watch Campaign is a public education initiative of the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), an association of fifteen government agencies in Santa Clara Valley. The Campaign is dedicated to raising awareness about protecting watersheds and preventing storm water pollution. This website provides free resources and easy everyday ways to prevent pollution in neighborhood, local creeks, and the Bay.

Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: June 8, 2019

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/ceam/wmost

The Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool is a software application that allows water resource managers and planners to screen a wide range of management practices for cost-effectiveness and economic sustainability.

Water Resource Management Plan

Author: Minneapolis, MN | Developed/Updated on Date: September 5, 2019

Web Link: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/stormwater/stormwater_local-surface

The Water Resources Management Plan is a comprehensive report on the programs and practices of the sanitary and stormwater drainage systems that directly impact water resources in Minneapolis.

Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Reduce Residential Water Runoff: Behavioral Results from Two Field Experiments

Author: Nick del Valle, County of San Diego and Jennifer Tabanico, Action Research | Developed/Updated on Date: September 14, 2016

Web Link: https://www.casqa.org/asca/using-community-based-social-marketing-reduce-residential-water-runoff-behavioral-results-two

In this presentation, we report the methods, outreach materials, and results from two pilot studies implemented in San Diego County that used community-based social marketing to target residential water runoff. Study 1 (implemented in 2015) focused on reducing runoff by encouraging residents to repair broken sprinklers. Study 2 (implemented in 2016) focused on reducing runoff by encouraging residents to reduce lawn watering time. The presentation engages the audience through a series of visual representations of data as well as outreach materials. The goal is for audience members to take away examples of tested outreach materials for residential audiences as well as an enhanced understanding of the application of community-based social marketing to stormwater runoff issues.

Urban Stormwater BMP Performance Monitoring

Author: Geosyntec Consultants and Wright Water Engineers, Inc. | Developed/Updated on Date: October 2009

Web Link: http://www.bmpdatabase.org/Docs/2009%20Stormwater%20BMP%20Monitoring%20Manual.pdf

This Manual provides guidance for all stages of BMP monitoring programs ranging from the early stages of study design to the end stages of data interpretation and reporting. Guidance is provided for monitoring a broad range of individual BMPs as well as overall site monitoring with multiple distributed BMPs, such as is the case with LID sites. This Manual focuses primarily on the collection, reporting, and analysis of water quantity and quality measurements at the heart of quantitative BMP efficiency projects. It does not address in detail sediment sampling methods and techniques, biological assessment, monitoring of receiving waters, monitoring of groundwater, streambank erosion, channel instability, channel morphology, or other activities that in many circumstances may be as, or more, useful for measuring and monitoring water quality for assessing BMP efficiency. In some cases, references for additional information on these subjects have been provided.

The 2002 version of this monitoring manual was developed to promote collection of more useful and representative data associated with BMP studies, as well as more consistent reporting of monitoring results appropriate for inclusion in the International Stormwater BMP Database. Since that time, both the International Stormwater BMP Database and stormwater management practices have continued to evolve, prompting this second release of the manual.

Stormwater Phase II Final Rule Public Participation/Involvement Minimum Control Measure Fact Sheet 2.4

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/epa_stormwater_phase_ii_final_rule_factsheet_2.4_public_participation_12-04-18.pdf

This fact sheet profiles the Public Participation/Involvement minimum control measure, one of six measures the operator of a Phase II regulated small municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) is required to include in its stormwater management program to meet the conditions of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. This fact sheet outlines the Phase II Final Rule requirements modified December 9, 2016 and effective on January 9, 2017. It offers some general guidance on how to satisfy them. It is important to keep in mind that the small MS4 operator typically has a great deal of flexibility in determining how to satisfy the minimum control measure requirements in its NPDES permit.

Stormwater Phase II Final Rule Public Education and Outreach Minimum Control Measure Fact Sheet 2.3

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/epa_stormwater_phase_ii_final_rule_factsheet_2.3_public_education_12-04-18.pdf

This fact sheet profiles the Public Education and Outreach minimum control measure, one of six measures an operator of a Phase II-regulated small municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) is required to include in its stormwater management program to meet the conditions of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit. This fact sheet outlines the Phase II Final Rule requirements modified December 9, 2016 and effective on January 9, 2017. It offers some general guidance on how to satisfy them. It is important to keep in mind that the regulated small MS4 operator typically has a great deal of flexibility in choosing exactly how to satisfy the minimum control measure requirements in its NPDES permit.

Public Outreach for Integrated Wastewater and Stormwater Planning

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-10/documents/public_outreach_for_integrated_wastewater_stormwater_planning.pdf

Many communities face complex challenges operating their wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, including meeting Clean Water Act (CWA) obligations under financial constraints. Communities with multiple CWA obligations for their wastewater treatment plants, sewer systems, and stormwater infrastructure must prioritize their investments. In addition, they must evaluate different approaches and options for improving their systems, including gray, green, and data infrastructure investments. Integrated planning is the process of systematically identifying and prioritizing actions and projects to meet CWA obligations. EPA released the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework to provide guidance on developing integrated plans. The framework identifies the operating principles and essential elements of an integrated plan. It also encourages communities to work with stakeholders to identify and evaluate options to respond to CWA requirements. This report focuses on the essential element of public outreach in the integrated planning process. Two case studies illustrate this process. The information in this report complements the information provided in the companion document Prioritizing Wastewater and Stormwater Projects Using Stakeholder Input.

Planning for and Assessing the Effectiveness of Stormwater Programs

Author: CASQA | Developed/Updated on Date: February 2015

Web Link: https://www.casqa.org/sites/default/files/effectiveness_assessment/final_casqa_planning_for_and_assessing_the_effectiveness_of_stormwater_programs_jun_20151.pdf

The primary purpose of this Guidance Document is to establish specific “how to” guidance with examples for managers in planning and assessing their MS4 programs. It approaches effectiveness assessment as an integral part of a comprehensive strategic planning process. It is designed for use by MS4 program managers involved in developing and implementing all aspects of stormwater programs, but it should also be useful to a variety of dischargers under other stormwater permits and programs (e.g., construction and industrial), as well as other environmental managers with a need for guidance on management and assessment principles.

National Extension Water Outreach Education

Author: University of Wisconsin | Developed/Updated on Date: 2020

Web Link: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/

Use Best Education Practices to plan an effective natural resources outreach strategy. Resource and research examples focus on water:

• Connect the situation with the people
• Choose achievable goals
• Select relevant outreach techniques
• Get measurable results

Use social assessment resources to design a natural resources outreach initiative with measurable impacts:

• Become familiar with the “community of interest”
• Define and assess the target audience
• Actively engage the target audience in planning

Monitoring to Demonstrate Environmental Results: Guidance to Develop Local Stormwater Monitoring Studies Using Six Example Study Designs

Author: Center for Watershed Protection | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2008

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/documents/monitoring_guidance_full_report.pdf

The central purpose of this manual is to provide guidance to MS4 communities on developing monitoring studies whose results can help improve their local stormwater programs by getting more pollutant reduction out of the total community stormwater investment. This manual presents six monitoring study designs that can be used by MS4 communities to assess their local stormwater programs.

Many monitoring studies fail to produce useful data because of poor study design, quality control or data management issues, unforeseen field situations such as vandalism, droughts or floods, or because the study was over-scoped or under-budgeted. This manual is designed to navigate the stormwater manager through these complexities so they can be confident to develop a monitoring study and the results it produces to get the most out of their limited stormwater dollars.

Model Monitoring Program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems in Southern California

Author: Stormwater Monitoring Coalition | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2004

Web Link: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego/water_issues/programs/stormwater/docs/wqip/2013-0001/J_References/J098.pdf

This report describes a model monitoring program for receiving waters affected by urban runoff in both wet and dry weather. It provides a common design framework for municipal urban runoff programs and Regional Board staff to use in developing and/or revising program requirements for monitoring receiving waters for impacts, status and trends, toxicity, mass emissions, and source identification. This effort was funded in part by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), prompted by Senate Bill 72 (Kuehl), which addressed the standardization of sampling and analysis protocols in municipal stormwater monitoring programs. The development of the model monitoring program itself was organized through the Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC).

Local Watershed Management Planning in Virginia: A Community Water Quality Approach

Author: Virginia Watershed Advisory Committee | Developed/Updated on Date: Not Dated

Web Link: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/document/wshedguideb2b.pdf

The Virginia Watershed Advisory Committee (VWAC), a consortium of Virginia agencies, regional organizations, and local government representatives involved in watershed management and restoration, developed this guide to give communities tools to develop local, effective, community-based watershed management plans. These plans are a framework to improve management of Virginia’s 494 watersheds through strategies encompassing local solutions.

VWAC recommends a watershed management plan with eight basic components to effectively capture local needs, while assisting with meeting state commitments. This guide provides background narratives for those eight components, as well as a related checklist. It also explores the relationship between local watershed management planning and larger state and federal water quality programs such as TMDLs and other Clean Water Act programs.

Interstate Technology Regulatory Council’s Stormwater Best Management Practices Performance Evaluation

Author: ITRC | Developed/Updated on Date: November 2018

Web Link: https://stormwater-1.itrcweb.org/

This guidance offers the user details on post-construction BMP lifecycle processes including contracting, cost considerations, installation factors including construction challenges, inspection checklists, quality control, and record drawings. It addresses long-term technology- and performance-based operational strategies, including aspects such as routine and non-routine maintenance. Data and information from existing publicly available BMP performance programs has been incorporated into an online BMP Screening Tool. Using site-specific pollutant treatment requirements and installation considerations, the BMP Screening Tool can assist the user by identifying a list of BMPs that may be appropriate for a given site. The BMP Screening Tool also provides users summarized information on the treatment efficiency, installation requirements, and maintenance issues regarding the identified BMPs, with links to access more detailed information.

Improving Stormwater Program Monitoring, Evaluation, Tracking, and Reporting: Workshop Report and Recommendations

Author: U.S. EPA Region 9 | Developed/Updated on Date: October 12, 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-10/documents/improving_stormwater_program_monitoring-10-12-2018.pdf

In March 2018, EPA Region 9, with assistance from EPA Headquarters and in partnership with the State of California, invited 31 stormwater experts from across the country to Oakland, California, for a two-day workshop titled Improving Stormwater Permit Approaches to Monitoring, Tracking, Evaluation, and Reporting. Participants included representatives from EPA, state Clean Water Act permitting agencies, local stormwater programs, national associations, consulting firms, and nonprofit organizations. The workshop was designed to explore current requirements and practices for municipal stormwater program monitoring, evaluation, tracking, and reporting and identify opportunities for improvement that would support more effective program implementation.

This report aims to provide a synthesis of participant ideas and contributions, along with other existing research, to identify the most promising opportunities for strengthening MS4 permits and program implementation. It includes an overview of the workshop discussions, specific recommended actions, case studies, summaries of known efforts related to the recommendations, and, where possible, some indication of commitment by stakeholder groups or organizations (e.g., trade associations, permittees, states, universities) to make progress in a given area. The table on the following page presents a brief synopsis of the recommendations.

Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: 2008

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2008_04_18_nps_watershed_handbook_handbook-2.pdf

This handbook provides information on developing and implementing watershed management plans that help to restore and protect water quality. A watershed is the area of land that contributes runoff to a lake, river, stream, wetland, estuary, or bay. A watershed management plan defines and addresses existing or future water quality problems from both point sources and nonpoint sources of pollutants. Experience over the past decade has shown that effective watershed management includes active participation from stakeholders, analysis and quantification of the specific causes and sources of water quality problems, identification of measurable water quality goals, and implementation of specific actions needed to solve those problems.

Getting in Step: Engaging Stakeholders in Your Watershed—Second Edition

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: May 2013

Web Link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/stakeholderguide.pdf

Stakeholder involvement is more than just holding a public hearing or seeking public comment on a new regulation. Effective stakeholder involvement provides a method for identifying public concerns and values, developing consensus among affected parties, and producing efficient and effective solutions through an open, inclusive process. Managing that process requires some attention to the logistics and synergies of creating and operating a team of diverse people pursuing a common goal.

This guide is intended for federal, state, tribal, and local agency personnel, as well as nongovernmental organizations, that are involved in watershed management activities and are building a stakeholder group. The guide can also help private organizations interested in recruiting stakeholders and involving stakeholders in local or regional watershed efforts.

Getting in Step: A Guide for Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaigns—Third Edition

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: November 2010

Web Link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/getnstepguide.pdf

Now in its 3rd edition, EPA’s Getting in Step guidance includes information on effective social marketing techniques and social networks to achieve outreach goals and objectives. The guide offers advice on how watershed groups, local governments, and others can maximize the effectiveness of public outreach campaigns to reduce nonpoint source and stormwater pollution and protect the lakes, rivers, streams, and coasts that we treasure. Additionally, the guide references EPA’s Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox, which is an online compendium of resources—including TV, radio, and print ads—to help organizations develop an effective and targeted outreach campaign to reduce pollution in stormwater runoff from herbicides, fertilizers, petroleum products, sediment, and other nonpoint sources. In summary, the guide is intended as a reference that pulls together principles, techniques, and information for effective watershed outreach into a single, user-friendly source.

Funding Stormwater Programs

Author: EPA Region III | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2008

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/region3_factsheet_funding.pdf

This document is intended to assist local stormwater managers understand the alternatives available to fund their stormwater program. The most stable source of funding is generally the stormwater utility, so this document briefly lists the various funding alternatives then describes in more detail the three different types of stormwater utility rate structures and the basic steps involved in creating a stormwater utility.

Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community-Based Social Marketing

Author: Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D. | Developed/Updated on Date: 2011

Web Link: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/UWEXLakes/Documents/ecology/shoreland/marketing/fostering_sustainable_behavior_dmm.pdf

This online book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviors. Further, it provides a set of “tools” that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behavior change. Each of these tools in and of its own right is capable of having a substantial impact upon the adoption of more sustainable behaviors. Collectively, they provide a powerful set of instruments with which to encourage and maintain behavior change. This online guide also details how to design and evaluate programs. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that I refer to as “community-based social marketing.”

Erase the Waste Campaign—California Storm Water Toolbox

Author: California Water Boards | Developed/Updated on Date: July 18, 2013

Web Link: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/outreach/erase_waste/

The California Water Boards offers a free multilingual California Storm Water Toolbox, a comprehensive set of educational and outreach tools developed as part of the Board’s Erase the Waste campaign. These action-oriented tools are free to all interested parties and have already been shared with environmental representatives from California and U.S. cities, China, Mexico, and South Korea.

The Erase the Waste campaign, sponsored by the California Water Boards, is a public education program, working to reduce harmful storm water pollution and improve the environment of the region’s coastal and inland communities. The campaign started in Los Angeles County, and materials produced during its three-year run have now been packaged here for state and nationwide use. It is built around the theme, Erase the Waste—a positive, empowering theme that encourages all residents and stakeholders to take ownership of their communities, help reduce and prevent storm water pollution from the local landscape and “become part of the pollution solution.”

The California Storm Water Toolbox includes the following tools for residents, community and civic groups, educators, municipalities, and public agencies:

• Advertisements, posters, collateral materials, and a comprehensive Neighborhood Action Kit in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese—a comprehensive “how-to” guide to community-focused pollution prevention.
• A landmark Water Quality Service Learning Model for grades 4–6 that meets the state’s curriculum standards.
• The Water Quality Detectives After School Program, an adapted version of the curriculum for middle school and after school setting.
• The California Storm Water Resource Directory, an online inventory of storm water materials developed in partnership with the California Storm Water Quality Association.

EPA’s Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: Last updated March 22, 2017

Web Link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/index.html

The Nonpoint Source (NPS) Outreach Toolbox is intended for use by state and local agencies and other organizations interested in educating the public on nonpoint source pollution or stormwater runoff. The Toolbox contains a variety of resources to help develop an effective and targeted outreach campaign.

Developing Reasonable Assurance: A Guide to Performing Model-Based Analysis to Support Municipal Stormwater Program Planning

Author: U.S. EPA Region 9 (written by Paradigm Environmental) | Developed/Updated on Date: February 2017

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/npdes/pdf/stormwater/meeting-2016-09/dev-reasonable-assur-guide-model-base-analys-munic-stormw-prog-plan-2017-02.pdf

This document is designed to assist municipal stormwater program managers, watershed stakeholders, consultants, and permitting authorities in understanding, selecting, and using model- based approaches to support development of rigorous, comprehensive municipal stormwater program management plans. Over the past 5 years, many municipal stormwater NPDES permits and associated local programs have shifted their planning focus to use robust analytical modeling tools to identify the specific stormwater management strategies and practices that will be necessary over the long term to attain specified water quality protection requirements. This general approach, based on what has been termed “reasonable assurance analysis” (RAA), has been developed as an alternative to traditional municipal stormwater permitting approaches that relied upon implementation of programmatic minimum stormwater management efforts and an iterative approach to stormwater control development that were often not grounded in rigorous analytical frameworks. This document is based on evaluation of several recent permits and local programs that are implementing this new RAA approach and is intended to provide a structured approach to selecting among alternative analytical tools and efficiently using the selected tools to support development of long-term stormwater management programs that will comply with NPDES permit requirements.

Decision Support for Multi-Benefit Urban Water Infrastructure

Author: Sasha Rebecca Harris-Lovett | Developed/Updated on Date: Fall 2018

Web Link: http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/etd/ucb/text/HarrisLovett_berkeley_0028E_18351.pdf

This dissertation seeks to support decision-makers in designing and implementing more equitable, holistic, and environmentally-sound urban water infrastructure. Chapter I assesses historical precedents for recycling sewage into drinking water in California to contextualize current concerns and challenges. Water recycling has had a rich and varied history in California; currently, potable water reuse is on the rise. Chapter II develops a legitimacy framework for potable water reuse in California, which facilitates decision-making about technologies that fit into the unique social, political, and cultural contexts of a particular locale. Chapter III provides a popular science look at the practice of potable water reuse, which is unfamiliar to many people and has faced stark public opposition in some areas. Chapter IV focuses on stakeholder perspectives to identify goals and strategies for multi-benefit wastewater treatment, as well as analyzes barriers to achieving these goals. Chapter V employs a quantitative multi-criteria decision analysis paired with stakeholder analysis and scenario planning to evaluate potential nutrient management options for the San Francisco Bay Area in uncertain future conditions.

Community-Based Social Marketing Website

Author: McKenzie-Mohr & Associates | Developed/Updated on Date: 2019

Web Link: https://www.cbsm.com

The cornerstone of sustainable and healthy communities is behavior change. Sustainability requires that individuals and businesses engage in diverse actions, such as reducing waste, increasing water and energy efficiency, altering transportation habits, and protecting native species. Healthy lifestyles require individuals to make smart food choices, exercise, avoid smoking and excessive sun exposure, and engage in a myriad of other actions. Research demonstrates, however, that the traditional approach of using ads, brochures, or websites to encourage behavior change simply doesn’t work. A new approach, community-based social marketing, is now being used effectively in numerous programs across the globe.

Assessment of Surface Water Model Maintenance and Support Status

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2018

Web Link: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100VFM8.txt

The U.S. EPA Water Modeling Workgroup (WMW) provides support for core surface water quality modeling tools used in Clean Water Act programs. The WMW identified a set of 18 separate surface water modeling applications that are currently applied to support development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plans, assess permit conditions for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) facilities, evaluate policy and water quality effects of potential actions, and conduct other water quality analyses. The WMW directed Tetra Tech to perform an assessment of the current maintenance and support status of each modeling tool to facilitate the identification of gaps in support or other activities that might warrant future WMW activity. This report summarizes the findings of Tetra Tech’s review of the maintenance and support status of the following modeling applications.

Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: February 19, 2020

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/waterfinancecenter

The EPA Water Finance Center provides financing information to help local decision-makers make informed decisions for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure to protect human health and the environment.

Water Finance Clearinghouse: Stormwater

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: February 8, 2017

Web Link: https://ofmpub.epa.gov/apex/wfc/f?p=165:1:10944264319320

The Water Finance Clearinghouse is an easily navigable web‐based portal to help communities locate information and resources that will assist them in making informed decisions for their drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure needs. The Water Finance Clearinghouse includes two searchable databases: one contains available funding sources for water infrastructure, and the second contains resources, such as reports, weblinks, webinars, etc. on financing mechanisms and approaches that can help communities access capital to meet their water infrastructure needs.

The Water Finance Clearinghouse was developed by EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Resiliency Center, an information and assistance center identifying water infrastructure financing approaches that help communities reach their public health and environmental goals.

Visualizing Ecosystem Land Management Assessments

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: June 5, 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/water-research/visualizing-ecosystem-land-management-assessments-velma-model-20

Visualizing Ecosystem Land Management Assessments is a computer software model that regional planners and land managers can use to determine which green infrastructure practice would be most effective for improving water quality in streams, estuaries, and groundwater.

Urban Street Stormwater Guide

Author: National Association of City Transportation Official | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2017

Web Link: https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-stormwater-guide/stormwater-streets/

The Urban Street Stormwater Guide provides cities with national best practices for sustainable stormwater management in the public right-of-way, including core principles about the purpose of streets, strategies for building inter-departmental partnerships around sustainable infrastructure, technical design details for siting and building bioretention facilities, and a visual language for communicating the benefits of such projects. The guide sheds light on effective policy and programmatic approaches to starting and scaling up green infrastructure, provides insight on innovative street design strategies, and proposes a framework for measuring performance of streets comprehensively.

Toolkit to Support Financial Planning for Municipal Stormwater Programs

Author: Environmental Finance Center at Sacramento State | Developed/Updated on Date: Not dated

Web Link: http://www.efc.csus.edu/

The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) developed a free toolkit to support asset management and funding for municipal stormwater programs. The toolkit includes a guidance report and worksheets that help record data on system assets, from pipes to gutters to green infrastructure. The toolkit helps prioritize maintenance needs and estimate long-term costs. It also includes spreadsheets for evaluating various stormwater fee options, including a consumer ability-to-pay analysis, and resulting revenues.

The Six Steps of Watershed Planning

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: April 2, 2020

Web Link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/watertrain/moduleFrame.cfm?parent_object_id=2886

The goal of this module is to introduce a flexible framework for watershed planning and point out key factors that help make planning successful.

Teach, Learn, Grow: The Value of Green Infrastructure in Schoolyards

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/teach-learn-grow-value-green-infrastructure-schoolyards

In this webcast, speakers from Green Schoolyards America, the Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center, and The Children & Nature Network discuss the multiple benefits of integrating green infrastructure practices into America’s schoolyards, and provide attendees with on-the-ground case studies and tools that can be used to create or enhance green schoolyard initiatives in their own communities.

SUSTAIN—A Framework for Placement of Best Management Practices in Urban Watersheds to Protect Water Quality

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2009

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/sustain_complex_tools.pdf

The U.S. EPA has been working since 2003 to develop such a decision-support system. The resulting modeling framework is called the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN). The development of SUSTAIN represents an intensive effort by EPA to create a tool for evaluating, selecting, and placing BMPs in an urban watershed on the basis of user-defined cost and effectiveness criteria. SUSTAIN provides a public domain tool capable of evaluating the optimal location, type, and cost of stormwater BMPs needed to meet water quality goals. It is a tool designed to provide critically needed support to watershed practitioners at all levels in developing stormwater management evaluations and cost optimizations to meet their existing program needs. Due to the complexity of the integrated framework for watershed analysis and planning, users are expected to have a practical understanding of watershed and BMP modeling processes, and calibration and validation techniques.

Stormwater Master Plan

Author: City of Grand Rapids, MI | Developed/Updated on Date: January 20, 2014

Web Link: https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/files/assets/public/departments/environmental-services/files/stormwater/environmental-services-resources/stormwater-misc/stormwater-master-plan-may-2013.pdf

The Stormwater Master Plan (SWMP) has many purposes but is primarily intended to establish standards with respect to the use and operation of the City of Grand Rapids’ stormwater system; to mitigate flooding; to reduce pollution and sedimentation of the system, adjacent properties, and the environment; and to improve the water quality of our rivers, lakes, and streams. Specifically, the objectives of the SWMP are to:
1. Protect human life, health, and safety through stormwater management.
2. Effectively utilize public funds for flood and stormwater pollution control projects.
3. Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding.
4. Reduce the level of pollutants discharged by the Grand Rapids Stormwater System.
5. Provide for the wise use and development of flood-prone areas so as to maximize beneficial use without increasing flood hazard potential and/or degrading water quality.
6. Ensure a functional drainage system that will not result in excessive maintenance costs.
7. Encourage the use of best management practices to improve water quality.
8. Encourage the reduction of existing flooding problems in conjunction with new development.
9. Protect public and private property from the accumulation of mud, dirt, water, debris, and other materials.
10. Comply with federal and state laws regarding stormwater discharges, floodplain management, and erosion and sediment control.

Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center

Author: Sustainable Communities online | Developed/Updated on Date: 2020

Web Link: https://www.sustainable.org/environment/water/319-stormwater-managers-resource-center-smrc

The Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center (SMRC) is designed specifically for stormwater practitioners, local government officials, and others who need technical assistance on stormwater management issues. It is created and maintained by the Center for Watershed Protection.

Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Sources

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2019

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-discharges-municipal-sources

Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), and then often discharged, untreated, into local water bodies. An MS4 is a conveyance or system of conveyances that is: owned by a state, city, town, village, or other public entity that discharges to waters of the U.S.; designed or used to collect or convey stormwater (e.g., storm drains, pipes, ditches); not a combined sewer; and not part of a sewage treatment plant or publicly owned treatment works (POTW).

To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into MS4s, certain operators are required to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and develop stormwater management programs (SWMPs). The SWMP describes the stormwater control practices that will be implemented consistent with permit requirements to minimize the discharge of pollutants from the sewer system.

Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Performance Analysis

Author: U.S. EPA Region 1 | Developed/Updated on Date: March 2010

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/stormwater/assets/pdfs/BMP-Performance-Analysis-Report.pdf

The purpose of this project is to generate long-term cumulative performance information for several types of stormwater best management practices (BMPs). The information can be used to provide estimates of long-term cumulative efficiencies for several types of BMPs, according to their sizing. The curves reflect pollutant removal performance of BMPs designed and maintained in accordance with Massachusetts stormwater standards. Developing a BMP rating curve involved several major steps: (1) selecting an appropriate long-term precipitation record (data and location) that is representative of a major urbanized area within the New England region, (2) generating hydrograph and pollutant time series using a land-based hydrologic and water quality model, (3) simulating BMP hydraulic and treatment processes in BMP models, and (4) creating BMP performance curves on the basis of BMP model simulation results.

Storm Water Management Model

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: March 19, 2020

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/water-research/storm-water-management-model-swmm

The Storm Water Management Model is a simulation model that communities can use for stormwater runoff reduction planning, analysis, and the design of combined sewers and other drainage systems.

Storm Smart Schools: A Guide to Integrate Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Meet Regulatory Compliance and Promote Environmental Literacy

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-10/documents/storm_smart_schools_print_final_071317.pdf

EPA Region III assisted Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) and the City of Newport News with organizing a community-based design charrette at Sedgefield Elementary School. The charrette resulted in the creation of a conceptual site plan that uses green infrastructure practices to address stormwater issues at Sedgefield Elementary. NNPS incorporated outdoor learning into this process, which provided an opportunity to support environmental literacy for students of all ages.

This guide serves several purposes. It:

• Captures the approach used to identify and select a school and the green infrastructure best management practices used at the school to manage stormwater.
• Is a resource to community stakeholders, local governments, and schools to address the multiple aspects of the process, including planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, and ongoing stewardship of green infrastructure best management practices.
• Provides a “how to” focused on school grounds to use green infrastructure best management practices to meet regulatory requirements, protect public health and the environment, and provide multiple community and educational benefits.

Storm Smart Cities: Integrating Green Infrastructure into Local Hazard Mitigation Plans

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: March 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-04/documents/storm_smart_cities_508_final_document_3_26_18.pdf

This Storm Smart Cities guide examines how communities can integrate green infrastructure into their local hazard mitigation plans. It provides a case study of green infrastructure integration efforts in the City of Huntington, West Virginia, and the West Virginia Region 2 Planning & Development Area.

This guide serves several purposes. It:
• Provides an overview of local hazard mitigation planning.
• Captures an approach used to establish a planning team.
• Identifies lessons learned and important considerations for other communities interested in pursuing this approach.
• Provides a crosswalk between the steps in local hazard mitigation planning, considerations for integrating green infrastructure, and examples from the Huntington, West Virginia, Case Study.

Southwest Environmental Finance Center – Asset Management Website

Author: Southwest Environmental Finance Center (University of New Mexico) | Developed/Updated on Date: Not dated

Web Link: http://southwestefc.unm.edu/asset-management/

The Southwest Environmental Finance Center (SW EFC) assists state, local, and tribal governments and the regulated private sector in meeting environmental infrastructure needs and achieving regulatory compliance through state and local capacity-building and technical information transfer. The SW EFC’s Asset Management website is a gateway to various resources, including guides to understanding the basics of asset management and tools for implementation.

Regional and Municipal Stormwater Management: A Comprehensive Approach

Author: Harvard Law School | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2014

Web Link: http://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/regional-municipal-stormwater-management-comprehensive-approach.pdf

This report analyzes options for addressing stormwater pollution at both the regional and municipal level. The report recommends that municipalities adopt green infrastructure as a stormwater pollution reduction strategy and provides exemplary code provisions that best encourage local green infrastructure development. The report also recommends that municipalities consider addressing stormwater pollution in a more comprehensive manner through participation in a regional program. Of the numerous options for regionalizing stormwater management, we recommend a hybrid approach that collects a fee for basic maintenance/installation costs and sets up a cap and trade system. The hybrid system combines the benefits of a cap and trade program with the funding sources of a fee program, helps to ensure the goal of decreased stormwater pollution in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner, and best deals with the differences in legal codes between municipalities. By accounting for differences in municipalities, a hybrid approach allows for growth by making it easier to add new municipalities and large property owners to the program.

Rainfall to Results: The Future of Stormwater

Author: Water Environment Federation | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2015

Web Link: https://wefstormwaterinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Rainfall-to-Results.pdf

Rainfall to Results: The Future of Stormwater, published by the WEF Stormwater Institute, sets a vision for the future of sustainable stormwater management. Based on input from stormwater professionals, this report charts a path forward for the sector with broad objectives and more specific actions for achieving a healthier water environment and more vibrant communities. This report marks the beginning of an ongoing dialogue and a series of future meetings that will record new successes and challenges while refining the path forward.

Quick Resource Guide to the MS4 Program

Author: Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Water Resource Center | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2016

Web Link: http://files.dep.state.pa.us/EnvironmentalEd/Environmental%20Education/EnvEdPortalFiles/MS4%20Resource%20Guide.pdf

This guide was written for municipalities that own and operate an MS4. The guide begins with the history and background of MS4s and regulations. Then it provides an overview of the six minimum control measures (MCMs) of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System MS4 permit and their associated best management practices (BMPs). Examples provided of BMPs are not meant to be the only available solutions—there are many other BMPs.

Prioritizing Wastewater and Stormwater Projects Using Stakeholder Input

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-10/documents/prioritizing_wastewater_and_stormwater
_projects_using_stakeholder_input.pdf

Many communities face complex challenges operating their wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, including meeting Clean Water Act (CWA) obligations under financial constraints. Communities with multiple CWA obligations for their wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), sewer systems, and stormwater infrastructure must prioritize their investments. In addition, they must evaluate different approaches and options for improving their systems, including gray, green, and data infrastructure investments.

Integrated planning is the process of systematically identifying and prioritizing actions and projects to meet CWA obligations. EPA released the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework to provide guidance on developing integrated plans. The framework identifies the operating principles and essential elements of an integrated plan. It also encourages communities to work with stakeholders to identify and evaluate options to respond to CWA requirements.

This report describes how communities can use stakeholder input to select and rank criteria and apply those criteria to prioritize stormwater and wastewater projects. Three case studies illustrate this process.

Post-Construction Performance Standards & Water Quality-Based Requirements: A Compendium of Permitting Approaches

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2014

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/sw_ms4_compendium.pdf

This compendium presents examples of different permitting approaches that EPA found in its nationwide review by describing, and in some cases excerpting, language from permits. The compendium is divided into two major sections. Section A provides examples of permits that implement numeric post-construction performance and/or design standards, and Section B presents different permitting approaches to address impaired waters and total maximum daily loads. Note that a number of the permits identified in the compendium are featured in more than one of the categories.

Plans and Reports

Author: City of San Diego, CA | Developed/Updated on Date: Various (2002–2020)

Web Link: https://www.sandiego.gov/stormwater/plansreports

The City collaborated with other jurisdictions and stakeholders throughout the San Diego Region to develop Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) for each of the watersheds within its jurisdiction. The goal of the WQIPs is to protect, preserve, enhance, and restore water quality of receiving water bodies. This goal will be accomplished through an adaptive planning and management process that identifies the highest-priority water quality conditions within a watershed and implements strategies to achieve improvements in the quality of discharges from the responsible agencies’ storm drain systems.

Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: February 2012

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-01/documents/planning-for-sustainability-a-handbook-for-water-and-wastewater-utilities.pdf

This Handbook describes a number of steps utilities can undertake to enhance their existing planning processes to ensure that water infrastructure investments are cost-effective over their life-cycle, resource-efficient, and support other relevant community goals. Developed after extensive consultation and input from utilities, states, and other stakeholders, this Handbook is organized around a series of Core Elements, including:
• Setting utility sustainability goals and objectives that also support relevant community goals.
• Analyzing a range of alternatives, including green infrastructure and other innovative approaches, based on full life-cycle costs.
• Implementing a financial strategy, including adequate rate structures, to ensure the alternatives selected are sufficiently funded, operated, maintained, and replaced over time.

One Water Roadmap: The Sustainable Management of Life’s Most Essential Resource

Author: U.S. Water Alliance | Developed/Updated on Date: 2016

Web Link: http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/publications/Roadmap%20FINAL.pdf

This report offers a framework for bold leadership towards One Water management in the United States. One Water is a perspective that all water has value and should be managed in a sustainable, inclusive, and integrated way. While the focus is water, their goals are thriving local economies, community vitality, and healthy ecosystems.

The report is organized in the following manner:
• The Current Landscape provides an overview of the varied water-related challenges that face our nation.
• The One Water Approach describes the vision and core principles that guide the One Water approach.
• Arenas for Action reviews six key arenas where progress is already being made and greater success can be realized.

What is a Watershed?

Author: Gills Creek Watershed Association | Developed/Updated on Date: 2020

Web Link: https://www.gillscreekwatershed.org/plans.html

Gills Creek Watershed Association is dedicated to restoring the watershed through education, grass roots action, public and private partnerships, remediation projects, and well-managed development. The goal is to return the watershed to a living resource providing recreational opportunities, habitat for native wildlife and plants, and a national model for watershed planning and management.

New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual

Author: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Watershed Management | Developed/Updated on Date: April 2004, Last Revised November 2018

Web Link: https://www.njstormwater.org/bmp_manual2.htm

The New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual (BMP manual) was developed to provide guidance to address the standards in the Stormwater Management Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8 and provides examples of ways to meet the standards. The methods referenced in the BMP manual are one way of achieving the standards.

Navigating Litigation Floodwaters: Legal Considerations for Enacting, Implementing, & Funding Stormwater Programs

Author: National Association of Clean Water Agencies | Developed/Updated on Date: 2016

Web Link: http://www.nacwa.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2016-12-08stormwaterwhitepaper.pdf?sfvrsn=0

This publication provides a brief overview of current legal issues associated with user fee-funded municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) stormwater programs and a summary of selected legal decisions and pending cases.

There are numerous technical publications about the structure and funding of stormwater utilities and programs (see Resources). Many of these sources touch on the fact that legal barriers exist. The purpose of this publication is to provide greater analysis on the types of legal issues impacting stormwater funding programs—and provide an overview of trends that are emerging based on the outcomes of key cases—to inform and prepare utilities that are creating, implementing, or defending a stormwater program, utility, or fee. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of all litigation and legal barriers associated with stormwater.

National Stormwater Calculator

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: January 10, 2020

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/water-research/national-stormwater-calculator

The National Stormwater Calculator (SWC) is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States (including Puerto Rico). SWC allows users to learn about the ways that green infrastructure practices, like rain gardens, can prevent water pollution in their neighborhoods.

Municipal Online Stormwater Training Center (MOST)

Author: University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center | Developed/Updated on Date: 2019

Web Link: https://mostcenter.umd.edu/

The Municipal Online Stormwater Training (MOST) Center was established in 2015 to bridge the gap in needed technical and financial stormwater management resources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This free, virtual center provides users with tools to better communicate about, build, and enhance local stormwater programs.

Through interactive lessons, videos, graphics, and knowledge checks, MOST delivers educational content in an engaging, user-friendly format. In addition, the site features case studies that demonstrate local success, interviews with practitioners around the Chesapeake Bay region, and helpful resources such as manuals, reports, and toolkits.

MS4 Program Evaluation Guidance

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2007

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/ms4guide_withappendixa.pdf

An MS4 program evaluation is ultimately based on the requirements in the MS4 permit and commitments made in the stormwater management program (SWMP). These should serve as the primary references for a specific MS4 program evaluation, with this Guidance used as a tool to help assess compliance with the SWMP plan and the permit. The evaluator may also recommend additional activities that should be conducted by the permittee to improve the SWMP. The term evaluation can refer to an audit, inspection, or screening process depending on the level of detail utilized.

It is important to keep in mind that this Guidance is not an enforcement “how to” document, but can be used to assist in the enforcement process by describing a process for consistently and accurately assessing and documenting the compliance status of permittees based on permit or SWMP requirements. Notes, checklists, and reports developed as a result of an evaluation will be helpful when justifying and generating enforcement actions.

Minnesota Stormwater Manual

Author: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency | Developed/Updated on Date: October 2019

Web Link: https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/Main_Page

Throughout the production of the Manual, one singular goal was kept in mind—to produce a useful product that helps the everyday user better manage stormwater. The purpose, goal, vision, and tenets were developed by the original Stormwater Design Team. Although stormwater management to control the pollution of receiving waters has been around in earnest for over 30 years in Minnesota, the advent of many new programs means that guidance is needed more than ever. Such programs as the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Phase I and II program, the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) program, and strong runoff control programs at the local and watershed levels have all contributed to the need for this information to be compiled in a comprehensive, technically sound document.

The directive the Manual Sub-Committee received from the SSC was to produce a document that could be used as a single source to guide stormwater managers through the maze of regulations, best management practices (BMPs) designs, models/techniques, and terminology that constitute good stormwater management. It does not address the requirements of other non-stormwater-related regulatory programs that can have an effect on stormwater. Related to this was the charge to produce a manual that does not duplicate the many good sources of information already available. Because Minnesota is fortunate enough to have had many additional tools created over the years, the Manual will often forego detailed explanation of a particular element and send the user directly to another resource via electronic linkage or cited reference. These linked resources provide information that Minnesota stormwater managers can put to use in conjunction with this Minnesota Stormwater Manual. The Manual is intended to be flexible, easily updated, and responsive to the needs of the Minnesota stormwater community.

Memo on “Updating the EPA’s Water Quality Trading Policy to Promote Market-Based Mechanisms for Improving Water Quality”

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: February, 2019

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-02/documents/trading-policy-memo-2019.pdf

Purposes of this memorandum:
1. To reiterate the EPA’s strong support for water quality trading and other market-based programs to maximize pollutant reduction efforts and improve water quality.
2. To accelerate the adoption of market-based programs that will incentivize implementation of technologies and land use practices that reduce nonpoint pollution in our nation’s waters.
3. To provide additional guidance to states, tribes, and stakeholders regarding the use of market-based programs to reduce water pollution at lower overall cost.
4. To provide increased investment in conservation actions.

Measurable Goals Guidance for Phase II Small MS4s

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: Not dated

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/measurablegoals.pdf

According to the Stormwater Phase II Rule, small MS4 owners/operators must reduce pollutants in stormwater to the maximum extent practicable (MEP) to protect water quality. The regulations specify that compliance with the MEP requirement can be attained by developing a stormwater management plan that addresses the six minimum control measures described in the stormwater regulations. These six minimum measures are described in detail in a series of fact sheets developed by EPA. One component of the stormwater management program is to select measurable goals to evaluate the effectiveness of individual control measures and the stormwater management program as a whole.

This guidance is designed to assist small MS4 operators to comply with the measurable goals stormwater permitting requirements. The guidance presents an approach for MS4 operators to develop measurable goals as part of their stormwater management plan. This guidance is divided into five main parts:
• Part 1—Background and Regulatory Context
• Part 2—Process for Developing Measurable Goals
• Part 3—Examples of BMPs and Associated Measurable Goals
• Part 4—Process for Developing a Stormwater Management Program
• Part 5—Environmental Indicators

Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook: Green Streets

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: December 2008

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/gi_munichandbook_green_streets_0.pdf

Effective road drainage, translated as moving stormwater into the conveyance system quickly, has been a design priority while opportunities for enhanced environmental management have been overlooked, especially in the urban environment. Roads present many opportunities for green infrastructure application. One principle of green infrastructure involves reducing and treating stormwater close to its source. Urban transportation right-of-ways integrated with green techniques are often called “green streets.” Green streets achieve multiple benefits, such as improved water quality and more livable communities, through the integration of stormwater treatment techniques that use natural processes and landscaping.

Making the Right Choices for Your Utility: Using Sustainability Criteria for Water Infrastructure Decision Making

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: February 2015

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-01/documents/alternatives_analysis_final_criteria_2015.pdf

This document is designed to supplement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities (“the Handbook”), issued in February 2012. Specifically, this document supplements Element 3 in the Handbook (Alternatives Analysis) to provide more detailed guidance on alternatives analysis methods that utilities can use to incorporate sustainability criteria when evaluating infrastructure or operational alternatives and making decisions related to major infrastructure investments. It enables utilities of varying degrees of size and capacity, working with local officials and community members, to undertake a decision-making process that gives balanced consideration to a full range of alternatives—including green and decentralized technologies —to best meet the overall short- and long-term needs of the community.

Long-Term Performance and Life-Cycle Costs of Stormwater Best Management Practices

Author: Transportation Research Board | Developed/Updated on Date: March 23, 2016

Web Link: http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/171471.aspx

The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies developed a spreadsheet-based long-term performance and life-cycle best management practice cost tool that is easy to use and facilitates ‘what-if’ comparisons between best management practice scenarios.

Local Government Stormwater Financing Manual: A Process for Program Reform

Author: University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2014

Web Link: https://efc.umd.edu/assets/stormwater_projects/2
efc_stormwater_financing_manual_final_(1).pdf

This manual was inspired by and written for local government leaders. Though effectively managing urban stormwater runoff requires leadership and bold decision-making at all levels of government, it is at the local level where the most significant and substantive stormwater investments will be made. It is also at the local level where the most innovative, effective, and transformative financing programs are being developed and implemented. Our goal with this manual is to provide local leaders with the foundation for establishing and growing effective stormwater management programs that maximize the value and impact of every dollar invested in their communities.

Land Conservation Loans: Rebate Advances to RainWise Contractors

Author: Craft3 | Developed/Updated on Date: 2019

Web Link: https://www.craft3.org/Borrow/conservation-loans/rainwise-pilot-access-loan-program

Craft3 provides pre-construction rebate advances to RainWise Contractors for green infrastructure projects with pre-approved Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) or King County rebates. This program expands access to the RainWise program by enabling contractors to work with clients who cannot pay upfront for the work.

Lancaster County Municipal Management Financing Feasibility Study

Author: Environmental Finance Center | Developed/Updated on Date: October 2013

Web Link: https://efc.umd.edu/assets/lancaster_sw/lancaster_stormwater_financing_study_final_report__appendices.pdf

This report presents findings from a financing feasibility study conducted in Pennsylvania. With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) worked directly with six Pennsylvania municipalities over the course of a year. The objective of this effort was to identify the current level of stormwater service, determine the future level of service needed to deliver a comprehensive stormwater management program, and highlight any and all opportunities to work collaboratively across the collective municipalities. While the goal of the stormwater management financing study was to enhance each municipality’s existing program and help them meet state and federal requirements more thoroughly, it was equally important that community water quality priorities were also properly addressed as all prepared for increased future nutrient reduction expectations.

The EFC’s approach included conducting in-depth interviews, data collection, and analysis of stormwater-related activities and expenses for each of the participating municipalities. The project also included a collection of outreach activities that helped to educate, inform, and engage citizens, businesses, and elected officials about the need to properly manage stormwater locally.

International Stormwater BMP Database

Author: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2018

Web Link: http://www.bmpdatabase.org/

The International Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database project website features a database of over 700 BMP studies, performance analysis results, tools for use in BMP performance studies, monitoring guidance, and other study-related publications.

Integrated Decision Support Tool (i-DST)

Author: Colorado School of Mines | Developed/Updated on Date: Under development

Web Link: http://inside.mines.edu/iDST-home

The Colorado School of Mines is developing the Integrated Decision Support Tool (i-DST). It is a decision support tool for managers implementing grey, green, and hybrid water infrastructure. The tool will include the following elements:
• Hydrologic and water quality models with grey and green infrastructure
• A life cycle cost assessment
• Valuation of co-benefits of grey and green infrastructure
• Optimization utilities
• Uncertainty assessment
• Climate change predictions
• Novel structural stormwater best management practices

Hazard Mitigation

Author: West Central Texas Council of Governments | Developed/Updated on Date: 2020

Web Link: http://www.wctcog.org/hazard_index.php

The purpose of Hazard Mitigation is to encourage and assist local units of governments to join and cooperate with one another to improve the health, safety, and general welfare of their citizens; to plan for the future development of the area embraced by the communities within the area; to assist member units in solving current problems and completing capital improvements; and to establish regional coordination and communication to help eliminate monetary waste from duplication and misapplication.

Harvesting the Value of Water: Stormwater, Green Infrastructure, and Real Estate

Author: Urban Land Institute | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/HarvestingtheValueofWater.pdf

This report seeks to address a gap in today’s research on stormwater management approaches. Although much has been written on the topic of green infrastructure and water management, most recent reports focus on stormwater policies or opportunities for capturing stormwater in the public realm. Fewer have focused on implications for private-sector real estate developers. This report brings together an analysis of the stormwater policy landscape and an introduction to a variety of real estate development projects that have responded to it. After outlining the reasons that stormwater management is important to cities, this report introduces a series of real estate case studies and a range of types of stormwater policies. The case studies come from locations across the United States and present both innovations in stormwater management and positive financial, operational, or design outcomes.

Guidance Manual for Stormwater Funding

Author: National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2006

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/guidance-manual-version-2x-2_0.pdf

The focus of this guidance is to provide a resource to local governments as they address contemporary stormwater program financing challenges. The guidance includes procedural, legal, and financial considerations in developing viable funding approaches. The guidance examines a range of possible approaches to paying for stormwater management, but the focus is on guidelines for developing service/user/utility fees to support these programs. The terms service fee, user fee, and utility fee may be used interchangeably in this guidance. Chapter 2 addresses various sources of funding. Chapter 3 covers legal considerations, and implementation of stormwater funding programs is discussed in Chapter 4.

Greening the Streetscape: Complete Streets and Stormwater Management

Author: Smart Growth America | Developed/Updated on Date: July 26, 2017

Web Link: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/greening-streetscape-complete-streets-stormwater-management-webinar-recap/

The challenge of managing stormwater is exacerbated by both increased rainfall and aging infrastructure. City governments, as well as residents who cannot afford to move, bear the brunt of the expense. Fortunately, stormwater management through Green Streets infrastructure offers promising solutions that can be carried out in conjunction with Complete Streets. When cities or private developers are retrofitting or redesigning streets, there is a confluence of opportunities to implement both stormwater improvement projects as well as Complete Streets network enhancements. Together, both Green Streets and Complete Streets initiatives work to improve the economic, equity, and environmental impacts of the street network all while creating safer, more vibrant streets.

Green Infrastructure Wizard

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: July 9, 2019

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/giwiz

The Green Infrastructure Wizard is a web application that provides communities with information about EPA green infrastructure tools and resources.

Green Infrastructure Plan

Author: The Conservation Fund | Developed/Updated on Date: 2007

Web Link: https://www.conservationfund.org/images/projects/files/Green-Infrastructure-Plan-Cecil-County-Maryland-The-Conservation-Fund.pdf

The Conservation Fund has completed a Green Infrastructure Plan for Cecil County, Maryland. Based on the approach outlined in Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities (Benedict and McMahon, 2006), the Fund undertook a series of tasks to help Cecil County identify and protect its critical green infrastructure. Using the Fund’s green infrastructure approach to strategic conservation, the plan includes four key products:
• Green Infrastructure Network Design
• Water Quality Maintenance and Enhancement Analysis
• Ecosystem Services Assessment
• Implementation Quilt Analysis

Green Infrastructure Modeling Toolkit

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: October 23, 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/water-research/green-infrastructure-modeling-toolkit

EPA has developed innovative models, tools, and technologies for communities to manage water runoff in urban and other environments. The resources in this toolkit incorporate green or a combination of green and gray infrastructure practices to help communities manage their water resources in a more sustainable way, increasing resilience to future changes.

Green Infrastructure in Parks: A Guide to Collaboration, Funding, and Community Engagement

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-05/documents/gi_parksplaybook_2017-05-01_508.pdf

This guide offers information on why partnerships between stormwater managers and parks managers can be beneficial and how to create such partnerships. The guide presents an overview of green infrastructure, describes practices that can be used to manage stormwater in parks, and identifies factors that influence the selection of appropriate green infrastructure practices. It includes recommendations on the types of projects that are most likely to attract positive attention, funding, and the widest range of benefits.

The guide is designed to provide you with a stepwise approach for building relationships with potential partners and includes information on how to identify and engage partners, build relationships, involve the community, leverage funding opportunities, and identify green infrastructure opportunities. Case studies are included to illustrate the approaches.

For those who wish to go deeper into a topic, the guide includes short descriptions and links to external resources that provide more detail on the material presented within.

Green Infrastructure Flexible Model

Author: GIFMod (Green Infrastructure Flexible Model) | Developed/Updated on Date: June 7, 2016

Web Link: https://gifmod.com/default/

The Green Infrastructure Flexible Model is a computer program that evaluates the performance of urban stormwater and agricultural green infrastructure practices. Users can build conceptual models of green infrastructure practices to predict hydraulic and water quality performance under given weather scenarios.

Green Infrastructure Case Studies

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2010

Web Link: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100FTEM.PDF?Dockey=P100FTEM.PDF

This report presents the common trends in how 12 local governments developed and implemented stormwater policies to support green infrastructure. The local policies examined in this paper include interagency cooperation, enforcement and management issues, and integration with state and federal regulations. While a strong motivation for these policies and programs is innovation in stormwater management, many communities are moving past the era of single objective spending and investing in runoff reduction and stormwater management strategies that have multiple benefits. Green infrastructure approaches have a range of benefits for the social, environmental, and economic conditions of a community. Not only do these case studies include success stories for building a comprehensive green infrastructure program, but they also provide insight into the barriers and failures these communities experienced while trying to create a stormwater management system that includes more green infrastructure approaches.

Green City, Clean Waters

Author: Philly Watersheds | Developed/Updated on Date: 2018

Web Link: http://www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/documents_and_data/cso_long_term_control_plan

Green City, Clean Waters is Philadelphia’s plan to reduce stormwater pollution currently entering the City’s combined sewer system through the use of green infrastructure. Since Green City, Clean Waters was adopted in June 2011, Philadelphia Water and private developers have added over 1,100 green stormwater tools to the landscape.

Funding Stormwater Programs

Author: U.S. EPA Region 1 | Developed/Updated on Date: April 2009

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/stormwater/assets/pdfs/FundingStormwater.pdf

This document is intended to assist local stormwater managers in alleviating the significant expense of construction, operation, and maintenance of a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). The costs of stormwater programs, increased by regulatory requirements (stormwater Phase I or Phase II), flooding concerns, water quality issues (including total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs), and population growth, may be subsidized through a stormwater utility or various other methods detailed in this document.

Financing Green Infrastructure—Is a Community-Based Public-Private Partnership (CBP3) Right for You?

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: June 18, 2019

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/G3/financing-green-infrastructure-community-based-public-private-partnerships-cbp3-right-you

Throughout the United States, communities are struggling to meet the demands of stormwater management requirements. EPA recognizes the need for new and innovative solutions to finance and manage stormwater runoff, especially in urban areas, to achieve and maintain the water quality goals of the Clean Water Act. In order to protect and restore water quality while meeting the challenges of climate adaptation, communities should consider whether a community-based public-private partnership (CBP3) will help achieve their goals when evaluating stormwater financing and infrastructure needs.

Evolution of Stormwater Permitting and Program Implementation Approaches

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: May 17, 2018

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-10/documents/evolution_of_stormwater_permitting_approaches_and_program_implementation-2018-05-17.pdf

In December 2017, EPA Region 9, in partnership with the State of California and EPA Headquarters, convened a small group of stormwater professionals from across the country for a workshop designed to address the need for an overall evaluation of the MS4 program that focused on improving program implementation and MS4 permitting practices and approaches. The workshop—titled Improving Stormwater Permitting and Program Implementation Approaches—engaged 29 national experts from EPA, state Clean Water Act permitting agencies, local stormwater programs, national associations, consulting firms, and nonprofit organizations in facilitated discussions to identify tangible ways to enhance permit efficiency and effectiveness to help build state and local program capacity. Sessions focused on stormwater program implementation requirements in permits, including minimum control measures (MCMs), and water quality-based control requirements. A follow-on workshop in March 2018 assessed stormwater program monitoring, evaluation, tracking, and reporting provisions.

This report aims to provide a synthesis of participant ideas and contributions along with other existing research to identify the most impactful opportunities for strengthening MS4 permits and program implementation. The document is organized by workshop session and includes an overview of the discussion, specific actions, case studies, summaries of known efforts related to the recommendations, and some indication of commitment by groups to make progress related to a given recommendation.

Evaluation of the Role of Public Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement in Stormwater Funding Decisions in New England: Lessons from Communities

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2013

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/eval-sw-funding-new-england.pdf

This evaluation report describes lessons about the role and design of public outreach and stakeholder engagement strategies related to community stormwater funding decisions. The evaluation is based on the experiences of eleven small and medium-sized communities, primarily—but not exclusively—in New England. The evaluation has two complementary goals: first, to evaluate whether and how public outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts (including the use of consensus-building protocols) influenced the adoption of stormwater funding mechanisms; and second, to draw on the communities’ experiences to identify lessons for other MS4 communities considering stormwater program funding solutions.

Estimating Users of Water Resources: Springfield–Greene County Data Collection Plan

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: August 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-10/documents/estimating_users_of_water_resources_springfield-greene_county_data_collection_plan.pdf

A quantitative assessment of water users can help communicate the importance of water resource protection and improvement, as well as provide data for prioritizing projects. As part of Springfield–Greene County’s effort to develop a comprehensive integrated plan, EPA investigated data on water resource users within and downstream of the city and county. After compiling existing data, the EPA project team identified data gaps and developed recommended methods for collecting additional data to address these gaps. This data collection plan provides next steps for the project partners, as well as ideas for other communities on how to collect water resource user data to help support an integrated planning process.

EPA’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Website – Asset Management Workshops Training Slides

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: March 22, 2017

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure/asset-management-workshops-training-slides

This EPA website provides access to various asset management training presentations from a fundamentals of asset management workshop:
• America’s Pathway To Sustainable Water and Wastewater Services
• 0—Executive Overview
• 1—Develop Asset Registry
• 2—Assess Condition, Failure Modes
• 3—Determine Residual Life
• 4—Determine Life Cycle & Replacement Costs
• 5—Set Target Level of Service
• 6—Determine Business Risk (“Criticality”)
• 6.5—Develop Asset Registry
• 7—Optimize (O&M) Investment
• 8—Optimize Capital Investment
• 9—Determine Funding Strategy
• 10—Build Asset Management Plan

EPA Pilot Project to Increase Use of Green Infrastructure from Documenting Collaborative Agreement

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2017

Web Link: https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/687478.pdf

Urban stormwater runoff is a major contributor to pollution in U.S. waters. Municipalities historically managed stormwater with gray infrastructure. In 2007, EPA began encouraging the use of green infrastructure to manage stormwater and reduce the need for gray infrastructure. The Government Accountability Office was asked to examine the use of green infrastructure by municipalities to meet EPA’s stormwater requirements. This report (1) describes the extent to which selected municipalities are incorporating and funding green infrastructure in stormwater management efforts; (2) describes what challenges, if any, municipalities reported facing in incorporating green infrastructure into stormwater management efforts; and (3) examines efforts EPA is making to help municipalities use green infrastructure. The Government Accountability Office surveyed two nongeneralizable samples totaling 31 municipalities with stormwater permits or consent decrees for combined sewer overflows and interviewed EPA officials to examine EPA efforts to help municipalities use green infrastructure. The municipalities were randomly selected from lists of municipalities that are required to have permits and have consent decrees.

Costs and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices

Author: Peter T. Weiss, John S. Gulliver, Andrew J. Erickson | Developed/Updated on Date: June 2005

Web Link: https://www.lrrb.org/pdf/200523.pdf

The authors present construction and annual operating and maintenance cost data for several common stormwater management practices, including dry detention basins, wet basins, sand filters, constructed wetlands, bioretention filters, infiltration trenches, and swales. After statistical analysis of historical values of inflation and bond yields, the annual operating and maintenance costs were converted to a present worth based on a 20-year life and added to the construction cost. The total present cost of each stormwater control was reported as a function of water quality effectiveness (removal of total suspended solids and phosphorus). This work can be used by communities to estimate both the total cost of installing a stormwater management practice at a given site and the corresponding total suspended solids and phosphorus removal.

Community-enabled Lifecycle Analysis of Stormwater Infrastructure Costs (CLASIC)

Author: Water Environment & Reuse Foundation | Developed/Updated on Date: Under development

Web Link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/10616/report/0

The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) is developing a lifecycle cost tool for communities that takes into account the costs associated with planning, designing, acquiring, constructing, operating, maintaining, renewing, and replacing stormwater infrastructure. The results are expected to increase confidence in comparing benefits and costs of stormwater infrastructure alternatives using tools based on cost, design, and performance data sets and a peer-reviewed model. It will be a publicly accessible tool and database and a guide for decision-makers that includes case studies.

Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3s) and Alternative Market-Based Tools for Integrated Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: April 2015

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/gi_cb_p3_guide_epa_r3_final_042115_508.pdf

Public-private partnerships (P3s) have the potential to help many communities optimize their limited resources through agreements with private parties to help build and maintain their public infrastructure. P3s have successfully designed, built, and maintained many types of public infrastructure, such as roads and drinking water/wastewater utilities across the United States. Until recently, there have been no P3s specifically developed for stormwater management or Clean Water Act requirements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 Water Protection Division (WPD) has been researching, benchmarking, and evaluating P3s for their potential adaptation and use in the Chesapeake Bay region. On December 6, 2012, the EPA Region 3 WPD hosted a P3 Experts Roundtable in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (U.S. EPA, 2013a). The goal of the P3 roundtable was to provide a forum for a targeted group of private-sector representatives to discuss in detail the feasibility, practicality, and benefits of using P3s to assist jurisdictions in the finance, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of an urban stormwater retrofit program. The results of this roundtable are the foundation and approach for applying a stormwater P3 model across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

This guide provides communities with an opportunity to review the capacity and potential to develop a P3 program to help “close the gap” between current resources and the funding that will be required to meet stormwater regulatory commitments and community stormwater management needs. In addition, this guide and the tools presented are a continuing effort, commitment, and partnership between EPA Region 3 and communities in the Chesapeake Bay region. The authors of the guide believe it will help to raise the bar and further advance the restoration goals and objectives for the Chesapeake Bay.

Community Solutions for Stormwater Management: A Guide for Voluntary Long-Term Planning

Author: U.S. EPA Office of Water | Developed/Updated on Date: October 2016

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-planning

The purpose of this guide is to assist EPA, states, and local governments in developing new or improving existing long-term stormwater plans that inform stormwater management implemented by communities on the ground. The document describes how to develop a comprehensive long-term community stormwater plan that integrates stormwater management with communities’ broader plans for economic development, infrastructure investment, and environmental compliance. Through this approach, communities can prioritize actions related to stormwater management as part of capital improvement plans, integrated plans, master plans, or other planning efforts. Early and effective stormwater planning and management by communities as they develop will provide significant long-term cost savings while supporting resilience, economic growth, and quality of life.

City Parks, Clean Water: Making Great Places Using Green Infrastructure

Author: Trust for Public Land | Developed/Updated on Date: 2016

Web Link: https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/City%20Parks%20Clean%20Water%20report_0.pdf

This study shines a light on the successes and challenges of water-smart parks, looking at both the technologies and the political issues involved in using green infrastructure to make our cities more desirable, more livable, and more successful.

City of Waynesboro, Virginia, Virginia Stormwater Management Program Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program Plan 2018

Author: City of Waynesboro, VA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2018

Web Link: https://www.waynesboro.va.us/DocumentCenter/View/7176/Permit-Cycle-2-Stormwater-Program-Plan

The purpose of this document is to supplement Waynesboro’s General Permit Registration Statement and to outline the City’s MS4 Program to address the “six minimum control measures.” MS4 Program compliance is managed by stormwater program staff within the Public Works Engineering Division. The City will update and as necessary provide schedules to implement its MS4 program, including its BMPs and measurable goals in order to meet any new requirements in the General Permit for discharges from an MS4.

City of Pullman Final Stormwater Program Funding Alternatives and Financial Plan

Author: City of Pullman, Washington | Developed/Updated on Date: January 13, 2009

Web Link: https://pullman-wa.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_15252867/File/Departments/Public_Works/Stormwater/Funding%20Alternatives%20and%20Financial%20Plan.pdf

The following financial plan supports the development and implementation of an enhanced stormwater management program for the City of Pullman (City). The funding plan addresses each element of the City’s stormwater management program, including current stormwater regulatory compliance requirements, capital project needs, and operation and maintenance of existing stormwater management functions, as detailed in the City’s Stormwater Program Implementation Plan.

Funding alternatives have been developed to illustrate various ways that the program can be financed and implemented. Approximate stormwater utility rates have been estimated, based on recent impervious surface area (ISA) measurement work, to help the City evaluate whether or not forming a utility (which is the recommended approach) should be undertaken. Ongoing efforts, including refinements to the stormwater program budget and initial utility formation work, will provide the basis for determining final rates for the City. It is important for the City to secure regulatory compliance funding soon, since NPDES Phase II stormwater compliance requirements went into effect in February 2007.

The financial plan developed for the City’s proposed Stormwater Management Program consists of the following elements:
• Revenue Needs
• Evaluation of Current Funding Mechanisms
• Financial Alternatives and Potential Funding Mechanisms
• Recommended Stormwater Funding Mechanisms
• Recommended Preliminary Stormwater Utility Rates
• Management Suggestions

City Green: Innovative Green Infrastructure Solutions for Downtown and Infill Locations

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2016

Web Link: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/city_green_0.pdf

This publication is for local governments, private developers, and other stakeholders who help shape redevelopment projects in downtowns and infill locations where development has already occurred. It provides inspiration and helps identify successful strategies and lessons learned for overcoming common barriers to using green infrastructure in these contexts. The examples could encourage cities to adopt policies that would expand the number of projects incorporating similar green infrastructure approaches. Twelve case studies showcase projects from around the country that have overcome many common challenges to green infrastructure at sites surrounded by existing development and infrastructure. In these cases, space is at a premium, and soil conditions are often unknown or unsuitable for infiltration. The case studies help identify successful strategies and lessons learned for overcoming common problems.

Case Study: City of San Diego Watershed Asset Management Planning

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: Not dated

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/npdes/asset-mgmnt/pdf/npdes-asset-mgmnt-case-study-san-diego-wamp.pdf

To anticipate and justify current and projected costs of complying with federal, state, and local stormwater regulations, San Diego has developed an integrated Watershed Asset Management Plan (“WAMP”) for its stormwater management system. The first element of the WAMP is to assess the current inventory, costs, and condition of the system. After assessing the current state of City-managed assets, the WAMP goes on to quantify a long-range forecast of funding necessary to maintain a baseline level of service. Lastly, the plan articulates various potential funding sources and scenarios for achieving their targeted level of service.

Case Studies in Integrated Water Resources Management: From Local Stewardship to National Vision

Author: American Water Resources Association | Developed/Updated on Date: November 2012

Web Link: https://inyo-monowater.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AWRA-Case-Studies-IWRM.pdf

Water professionals have sought to implement the principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM) to address threats from aging infrastructure, climate change, and population growth while balancing environmental, social, and economic needs. The seven case studies in this report support the underpinnings of IWRM as a process and demonstrate how change in these key areas can facilitate IWRM implementation. These case studies were selected based on a sample of convenience. Each includes: (1) background information on what prompted IWRM efforts, (2) a description of the IWRM process, (3) a description of the outcome, (4) the costs and benefits, and (5) key contact information.

Building Cities in the Rain: Watershed Prioritization for Stormwater Retrofits

Author: Washington State Department of Commerce (Heather Ballash) | Developed/Updated on Date: September 2016

Web Link: https://www.ezview.wa.gov/site/alias__1780/36739/watershed_prioritization_guidance.aspx

Targeted watershed recovery and urban redevelopment and revitalization go hand in hand. This guidance describes an optional process for prioritizing watersheds for stormwater retrofits and the recovery of aquatic habitat in urban areas. It is intended to provide a tool for local governments to target investment in stormwater retrofits in a way that leverages opportunities for salmonid habitat restoration and facilitates redevelopment in urban centers.

BMP Performance Monitoring Data Compilation to Support Reasonable Assurance Analyses

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: Summer of 2002

Web Link: http://ftp.sccwrp.org/pub/download/
DOCUMENTS/TechnicalReports/1081_
BMPPerformanceRAA.pdf

This project roughly doubled the existing data set for flow-through BMPs in California. Influent-effluent monitoring of 81 different flow-through structural BMPs was compiled, totaling 1,700 site-events (e.g., storm-BMP combinations). The most site-events were compiled for vegetated swales (22.4%), media filters (21.5%), and constructed wetlands (38.6%). However, the vast majority of constructed wetland site-events were from just two BMPs, hindering extrapolation and uncertainty analysis to other constructed wetlands. The dry pond (5.8%), wet pond (7.4%), permeable pavement (0.1%), and bioretention systems (4.2%) provided too few site-events for conducting uncertainty analysis.

AWWA Asset Management Definitions Guidebook

Author: American Water Works Association | Developed/Updated on Date: January 2018

Web Link: https://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/AWWA/ETS/Resources/AMGuidebook.pdf?ver=2018-12-13-100101-887

This guidebook defines terms commonly used in water utility asset management practice. It was developed by AWWA’s Asset Management Committee to help improve learning, consistency, and communication in the water industry. The Committee plans to revise this guidance periodically to ensure the guidebook remains current as the industry matures.

Asset Management: A Best Practices Guide

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: April 2008

Web Link: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P1000LP0.PDF?Dockey=P1000LP0.PDF

This four-page guide provides a high-level overview of basic asset management concepts to help the reader understand the following:

• What asset management means
• The benefits of asset management
• Best practices in asset management
• How to implement an AMP

Asset Management Programs for Stormwater and Wastewater Systems: Overcoming Barriers to Development and Implementation

Author: U.S. EPA | Developed/Updated on Date: March 6, 2017

Web Link: https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/npdes/asset-mgmnt/pdf/Overcoming-Barriers-to-Development-and-Implementation-of-Asset-Management-Plans.pdf

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical steps and factors to be considered during asset management program (AMP) development and highlight real-world examples of encountered barriers to AMP development. This paper consolidates and summarizes work done by EPA and others to guide and document early experiences in using AMPs for stormwater and wastewater utility management. It provides guidance on the basics of developing and implementing a new AMP. It touches briefly on the experiences of several stormwater and wastewater utilities during the infancy of AMP development, including barriers they encountered. It also cites various AMP development and implementation research literature and case studies, which can provide valuable insight and tools for utilities that are just beginning the AMP planning and development process.

Asset Management for Stormwater: Making the Most of Your Investment

Author: Environmental Finance Center Network | Developed/Updated on Date: November 2013

Web Link: https://vimeo.com/81717106

During this webinar for Sustainable Communities grantees and their coalition partners, Heather Himmelberger from the Southwest Environmental Finance Center introduced participants to asset management, an approach to maintaining infrastructure in a strategic way so that it is sustained over the long term at the lowest overall lifecycle cost while meeting the needs of the community. Monica Billig and Eric Reed from the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center shared their experiences working with communities in the Mid-Atlantic to finance cost-effective stormwater programs and highlighted communities that have successfully used the asset management framework to protect their stormwater infrastructure assets.

A Strategic Approach to Planning for and Assessing the Effectiveness of Stormwater Programs

Author: California Stormwater Quality Association | Developed/Updated on Date: February 2015

Web Link: https://www.casqa.org/sites/default/files/effectiveness_assessment/final_casqa_planning_for_and_assessing_the_effectiveness_of_stormwater_programs_jun_20151.pdf

The primary purpose of this guidance document is to establish specific “how to” guidance with examples for managers in planning and assessing their MS4 programs. It approaches effectiveness assessment as an integral part of a comprehensive strategic planning process. It is designed for use by MS4 program managers involved in developing and implementing all aspects of stormwater programs, but it should also be useful to a variety of dischargers regulated under other stormwater permits and programs (e.g., construction and industrial), as well as other environmental managers with a need for guidance on management and assessment principles.

A structured approach to planning and assessing stormwater programs can help managers ensure that their programs are properly targeted, determine whether intended results are being efficiently and cost-effectively achieved, relate implementation results to conditions in urban runoff and receiving waters, and, ultimately, help guide managers toward implementation strategies with the greatest opportunity for long-term success.

(Re)Building Downtown: A Guidebook for Revitalization

Author: Smart Growth America | Developed/Updated on Date: December 2015

Web Link: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/app/legacy/documents/rebuilding-downtown.pdff

(Re)Building Downtown: A Guidebook for Revitalization is a resource for local elected officials who want to reinvigorate and strengthen neighborhood centers of economy, culture, and history through a smart growth approach to development.

“Full Delivery” Contract Model

Author: MOST Center | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://youtu.be/zrpQnBPi6MI

Anne Arundel County, Maryland, launched a first-of-its-kind contract system for implementing stormwater projects in order to comply with federal permits.  The County’s $3.8 million “full delivery of water quality improvements” contract was competed via a bidding process, and payment to the winning firm will be made upon successful project completion.  This system enables the County to maintain oversight while catalyzing markets to find innovation and cost efficiencies.  Erik Michelsen, Administrator of the County’s Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, describes how this system benefits both the government and the private contractor, the learning curve for public procurement and regulatory departments, and the potential for stormwater to mimic the mitigation banking model in which restoration practices are put into place before impact occurs.

Water Quality Improvement Plans

Author: City of San Diego, CA | Developed/Updated on Date: 2002–2020

Web Link: https://www.sandiego.gov/stormwater/plansreports

The City of San Diego collaborated with other jurisdictions and stakeholders throughout the San Diego Region to develop Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) for each watershed within its jurisdiction. The goal of the WQIPs is to protect, preserve, enhance, and restore water quality of receiving water bodies. This goal will be accomplished through an adaptive planning and management process that identifies the highest-priority water quality conditions within a watershed and implements strategies to achieve improvements in the quality of discharges from the responsible agencies’ storm drain systems.

Program Structure Article 02

Author: Uki Dele, P.E | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://www.stormcon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dele_P62.pdf

Asset Management (AM) for Stormwater Systems is becoming increasingly essential in managing assets for achieving water quality objectives while continuing to provide flood protection. Asset Management is a structured approach to optimizing the life-cycle cost of asset ownership and focuses on providing reliable and dependable service to customers. Read More

Program Structure Article 01

Author: Uki Dele, P.E | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: https://www.stormcon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dele_P62.pdf

Asset Management (AM) for Stormwater Systems is becoming increasingly essential in managing assets for achieving water quality objectives while continuing to provide flood protection. Asset Management is a structured approach to optimizing the life-cycle cost of asset ownership and focuses on providing reliable and dependable service to customers. Read More

Asset Management: Telling a Comprehensive Story for Stormwater Management

Author: Uki Dele | Developed/Updated on Date: 2017

Web Link: http://digital.stormh20.com/publication/index.php?m=4264&i=481265&p=24

This paper presents an overview of how Shoreline, Washington, is implementing asset management for its stormwater system. The city is using asset management principles to ensure its program meets its permit requirements and expectations for rates, flood protection, and environmental substantiality.