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The Washington Stormwater Center—in partnership with the City of Puyallup, The Association of Washington Cities, the Washington State Association of Counties, and the Puget Sound Partnership, with funding provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology—held the Inaugural Washington State Municipal Stormwater Conference.

Workshop 1 - Illicit Connection and Illicit Discharge (IC/ID) Field Screening and Source Tracing Guidance Manual Training

Presented by Rebecca Dugopolski (Herrera Environmental Consultants)

The Illicit Connection and Illicit Discharge (IC/ID) Field Screening and Source Tracing workshop provides a brief overview of the content of the Washington State Illicit Connection and Illicit Discharge (IC/ID) Field Screening and Source Tracing Guidance Manual. This popular training was offered at several locations around the state last year to provide hands-on demonstrations and manual training. To accommodate many who could not attend last year, we are offering it again during the first half-day of the conference.

Powerpoint Slides (PDF)
Guidance Manual (PDF)

Workshop 2 - LID Plan Review: Tools and Lessons From Ecology and Phase I Permittees

Presented by Doug Howie (Department of Ecology), Mark Wilgus (King County), Susie Larson (City of Seattle), Ede Courtenay (City of Seattle), Mieke Hoppin (City of Tacoma), Corey Newton (City of Tacoma)

This included an Ecology-led introduction to the details of revisions to Minimum Requirement #5, as well as overall submittal guidance from Ecology’s stormwater manual. Representatives from Phase I jurisdictions discussed lessons and tools regarding how they are approaching the new aspects of MR#5, and what they’re doing internally to facilitate associated development plan review. This may include issues with communication and politics as well as general technical issues related to Phase I’s recent code/manual update process related to MR#5. Also discussed will be tools developed by Phase I jurisdictions that others may be able to use or mimic (e.g., checklists, submittal forms, templates, etc.). The workshop did not go into the details of specific BMP designs and plan review considerations but will focus on larger internal challenges faced by municipal stormwater staff and plan review staff.

Low Impact Development Process (MR#5)
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

King County Challenges, Tools, and Lessons Learned: Adapting Ecology MR#5
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

City of Tacoma — LID Plan Review
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

LID Plan Review City of Seattle
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

Presenter Contact Info (PDF)

Workshop 3 - Successful Source Control through Behavior Change

Presented by Tiffany Odell (Pierce County), Dave Ward (Puget Sound Partnership)

Nonpoint pollution starts with people. Whether you’re a stormwater manager, engineer, program director, or outreach professional, you need to understand what it takes to motivate source control among your residents. Like engineered solutions, source control through behavior change applies science and research to achieve desired outcomes. Successful behavior-change programs employ behavioral science, marketing, and rigorous evaluation. This session focused on Social Marketing as a method to influence behaviors for pollution reduction. It emphasized successful programs and will walk through eight specific criteria that managers can use to gauge the effectiveness of their programs.

Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

Workshop 4 - Roads and Highways: Discussions and Presentations on High-Priority Topics

Presented by Mark Maurer (WSDOT), Aimee Navickis-Brasch (Gonzaga University), Curtis M. Nickerson and Vijaya Lakshmi Tummala (CARDNO), Michael O'Neil P.E. (King County Department of Transportation)

The session grew out of the work started by the statewide Stormwater Working Group’s Roads and Highways Subgroup and included presentations and discussions on high-priority topics now facing roads and highways managers and staff. Topics and discussion points were developed through a group survey that helped to focus the content of the session.

Maintenance Tracking and Asset Management
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

Lid Application to the Roadway Landscape
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

Designing and Implementing a Stormwater Monitoring Program
Powerpoint Slides (PDF)

Track One: “Big Picture” Stormwater

Stormwater is rarely a local issue. In this track, the watershed and regional aspects of stormwater management and permit requirements were examined. Through partnerships and research, municipalities learned from the permitting process and observations of local processes.

2014/15 Stormwater Manual and Code Updates: Key Tools and Lessons from Phase I Jurisdictions (Panel Discussion)

Presented by: Sherell Ehlers (City of Seattle), Mieke Hoppin (City of Tacoma), Mark Wilgus (King County) Dennis Dixon (Pierce County)

NPDES Phase I Municipal permittees are in the process of updating their stormwater codes and manuals to comply with the requirements of the latest NPDES permit requirements. Several Phase I permittees will present a summary of notable lessons and tools that have been developed as part of these recent updates.

Permeable Pavement Design and Maintenance: Municipal Lessons and Observations

Presented by: Mark Palmer (City of Puyallup), Jessica Knickerbocker (City of Tacoma), Tim Horton (Skillings Connolly)

Implementation and shared knowledge on permeable pavements can be a barrier to further use of such systems for on-site stormwater management. It’s understandable why there is an inherent resistance to these new methods. As we move forward with new designs influenced by Low Impact Development and policies designed to protect natural spaces within and around our communities, engineers will be challenged to shed traditional design methods for new innovative designs. Pervious pavement is one method in the engineers’ toolbox used to implement LID techniques.

A Direct-to-Implementation Approach to Toxics Reduction in the Spokane River

Presented by: Lynn Schmidt (Stormwater Permit Coordinator, City of Spokane), Adriane Borgias (Water Quality Lead (Spokane River) Department of Ecology)

The Spokane River community has engaged in an innovative direct-to-implementation approach to address toxics in the watershed. Collaboration with other entities on a watershed scale is a cornerstone of making progress in toxics reductions. Local municipal and industrial dischargers along with regulators, state entities, and environmental organizations formed the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force (SRRTTF), a direct-to-implementation alternative to the traditional TMDL process.

Re-Envisioning Treatment and Flow Control in Tacoma: The Regional Approach

Presented by: Dana de Leon P.E. (City of Tacoma, Environmental Services)

Redevelopment in Tacoma can be complex in our highly-urbanized area. The complexities are driven by limited space, aging infrastructure, and lower rents in comparison to other urban areas. Ease of development and more lucrative rents can drive development elsewhere.

Using an Ecological Recovery Approach to Stormwater Permit Regulations

Presented by: Andy Rheaume (Senior Planner, City of Redmond), Ed O’Brien (Department of Ecology), Heather Ballash (Department of Commerce), John Lenth (Herrera Environmental Consultants)

The municipal stormwater permits establish minimum requirements for permittees to address stormwater impacts from new development and redevelopment through the implementation of programmatic and structural best management practices (BMPs). In theory, if these BMPs are applied to all the developed land in a watershed, the receiving water would be protected from stormwater-related hydrologic and water-quality impacts. While the effectiveness of stormwater BMPs has been well-documented on the site scale, limited data exists nationally on the effectiveness of these controls in aggregate for actually protecting conditions in receiving waters.

Full Presentation (PDF)

Improving Stormwater Quality in an Urban Watershed

Presented by: Lorna Mauren P.E. (City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department)

Located in the heart of downtown Tacoma, the Thea Foss Waterway was once characterized by oil sheens, coal tar deposits, and dilapidated buildings. In 1985, the EPA declared the waterway a Superfund site. In 2006,  the City of Tacoma and its partners completed a $105 million remediation of the waterway.

Innovative Partnerships to Achieve and Exceed NPDES Permit Requirements

Presented by: Kate Riley (Program Manager, Snohomish Conservation District), Teresa Brooks (Kitsap Conservation District), Melissa Buckingham (Pierce Conservation District), Kara Kaelber (Franklin Conservation District), associated partner jurisdictions

Partnering with a Conservation District has enabled many jurisdictions to not only meet but exceed their permit requirements, by creating forward-thinking programming within their communities. The four conservation districts represented have relationships with almost twenty Phase I and II jurisdictions in Washington and are successful because of their cost-effective services, access to private landowners, and innovative outreach strategies.

Track 2: Stormwater Program Efficiencies Now

Stormwater can be a complex and involved topic. In this track, real-world examples and methods for integrating public education and outreach, inspections, efficiencies, and spill reporting were highlighted.

Trash Compactors: Eliminating a Major Source of Stormwater Pollution

Presented by: Dan Smith (Surface Water Quality Program Coordinator, City of Federal Way)

The City of Federal Way Surface Water Management (SWM) division has identified areas where solid and liquid wastes are handled, stored, and ultimately transferred to disposal company trash receptacles (specifically trash compactors) as significant contributors to stormwater pollution. As a result, appropriate and reasonable water quality code enforcement aimed at eliminating these sources has been carried out per requirements specified in the city’s Phase II Western Washington Municipal Stormwater NPDES Permit.

Integrating IDDE, Public Education, Inspections, and Spill Reporting

Presented by: Mindy Fohn (Water Quality Manager, Kitsap County)

Kitsap County Public Works has evolved outfall screening, spill reporting, and facility inspection programs gradually since 1995 so that now and in the future, they operate as one integrated approach. Upon review of the outcomes and effectiveness of the outfall screening program, spill hotline reporting, and other inspection programs such as commercial facilities and septic inspections, it was determined that real gains were made with an “eyes on the ground” approach rather than the visual and chemical screening of outfalls.

Presentation and Materials:

EPA NPDES Audits: Summary and Lessons from Ecology and Phase I Permittees (Panel Discussion)

Rachel McCrea, Department of Ecology. Bill Leif, Snohomish County. Lorna Mauren, City of Tacoma. Doug Navetski, King County. Kate Rhoads, City of Seattle.

    NPDES Phase I Municipal permittees recently went through audits of their permit-required activities. This Panel Discussion will include an introduction from Ecology to provide context for the EPA audits, followed by discussion among the panel members specific to the key challenges and lessons from the audit preparation, as well as significant outcomes and lessons that resulted from the audits. The information will be generally informative to permittees and other stormwater professionals, but in particular, will help Phase II permittees understand the realities of the audit process and the effects on permit compliance activities.

Utilizing Asset Management Data Based Systems to Meet NPDES Requirements

Presented by: Don Robinett (Stormwater Compliance Manager, City of SeaTac)

One of the most time consuming, and at times, exhausting requirements of the municipal stormwater permits is the need for program tracking and reporting. While most jurisdictions have permit tracking database systems, many have not implemented this technology in their operations and maintenance (O&M) or illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) programs.

Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Private Facility Inspections: From Paper to High Definition

Presented by: Dan Repp (City of Shoreline)

NPDES Municipal Stormwater Permittees are required to inspect private stormwater facilities for maintenance purposes. Challenges in this type of inspection program can include a growing workload with new development, communicating effectively with private property owners, and inaccurate mapping. Finding ways to streamline an inspection program that eases all of these challenges could benefit many permittees.

Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Outfall and Discharge Point Screening Application

Presented by: Mark Preszler (King County), Jeanne Dorn (King County), Brett Randle (King County)

In order to meet requirements within the Phase I NPDES Municipal Stormwater Permit, King County created a mobile application for screening, collecting, and reclassifying its outfalls and discharge points. The Outfall and Discharge Point Screening Application is based on the new outfall and discharge point definitions recently proposed by the Washington State Department of Ecology.

City of Tacoma’s Catch Basin Assessment Program

Presented by: Michael Rose (Associate Engineer, City of Tacoma)

The City of Tacoma has done extensive work developing programs to track maintenance and forecast work in many areas of maintenance; however, when it came to catch basins the City’s program had missed the boat. The City realized the deficiency during a source tracing incident and an internal audit of our programs which identified a need to better track catch basin cleaning. In response to this need, the City of Tacoma has developed a fast, reliable, GIS-integrated program, which meets our needs for source tracing and compliance with Phase I NPDES permit catch basin operations and maintenance.

Building a Comprehensive Stormwater Retrofit Program

Presented by: Scott Murphy (Stormwater Retrofit Engineer, Kitsap County)

In June of 2009, the Kitsap County Commissioners adopted the “Water as a Resource” policy which recognized storm and surface water runoff as the leading transport medium of pollution into Puget Sound and its associated wetlands, creeks, streams, and rivers. Additionally, local groundwater studies indicate that 80% of Kitsap County citizens obtain their drinking water from groundwater resources and these are only replenished by the infiltration of precipitation that falls on Kitsap County. This has caused us to expand and restructure our retrofit program to address these challenges and help ensure that we will have clean and adequate water resources to accommodate future growth.

Track Three: Stormwater Research and News

In this ever-changing and dynamic field, new research can have a profound effect on stormwater management, education and outreach, and testing.

STORM: Collective Impact for Stormwater Education, Outreach & Beyond

Presented by: Stef Frenzl (Communication Specialist II, Snohomish County)

Nobody wants to unknowingly recreate the wheel from scratch, yet we see it happen more often than we’d like to admit. Even worse, well-intentioned people with the same goal sometimes get in each other’s way, and projects can get caught in the crossfire. How can we prevent these problems from happening? One solution is through Collective Impact, a structured form of collaboration that embraces continuous improvement and rigorous data to drive transformative change.

Presentation:
  • Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Recent GROSS and Other Grant Projects: Where Are They Now?

Presented by: Dan Gariepy (Department of Ecology)

The State Legislature and the Department of Ecology have invested in grant programs to help improve the water bodies impacted by stormwater across our state. This presentation will focus on a few of the programs and delve into some case studies on how those funds have turned into projects.

Presentation:
  • Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Alternative Fecal Coliform and Stormwater Testing Methods

Presented by: Simon A. Smith (Research Scientist, University of Idaho), Rob Buchert (City of Pullman), Shilo Sprouse (City of Pullman)

The City of Pullman (WA) has an active stormwater management program focused on improving water quality, infrastructure, and public awareness, to facilitate compliance with NPDES Phase II MSP requirements. One of the program’s water quality priorities is to reduce the fecal coliform (FC) counts entering its stormwater collection system, and the City has performed several stormwater system monitoring studies to achieve this goal.

Powerpoint slides (PDF)

The Sweet Smell of Success: Finding and Eliminating Illicit Connections in Seattle

Presented by: Adam Bailey (City of Seattle)

Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) is a permit stipulation that all NPDES Phase I and II permittees are required to meet. While many municipalities and counties have had limited success in locating sources of pollution through their respective IDDE programs, the City of Seattle has had great success in locating and eliminating scores of cross-connections by utilizing a different approach to IDDE which is both basic and thorough.

Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Pilot Testing of New Techniques for Illicit Discharge Detection

Presented by: Debra Bouchard (Water Quality Planner III, King County), Jeanne Dorn (Water Quality Project/ Program Manager III, King County)

King County, the City of Seattle, and the City of Kirkland collaborated on field testing canine scent tracking in Thornton and Juanita Creek watersheds in May 2014 – combining the two urban creeks into one study design. Canine scent-work results will be compared against laboratory analytical results to evaluate scent tracking reliability.

In late 2013, staff in the Stormwater Services group of King County, Washington State, learned of a field technique (the Mobile Water Kit) developed for rapid detection of total coliform and E. coli bacteria in water.  County staff collaborated with staff from the University of Alberta to perform a preliminary pilot field test of this method in King County in late June 2014.  Water samples from natural surface waters and stormwater conveyance systems were tested by both the newly developed rapid field technique and by conventional lab tests, to assess if the technique could be reliably used in the field for various program needs.  The principal finding of the pilot study is that the Mobile Water Kit field technique requires further refinement in order for it to be useful as a bacteria screening tool for surface water and stormwater conveyance systems.

Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Mobile Water Kit pilot test document

FC TMDL Bacteria Source Screening: Approaches by King County

Presented by: Jeanne Dorn (Water Quality Project/Program Manager III, King County)

Appendix 2 of the 2013-2018 Phase I NPDES Municipal Permit requires that King County performs specific tasks related to fecal coliform total maximum daily loads (FC TMDLs). King County Stormwater Services Section has begun implementing a bacteria source screening program in the first of its Appendix 2 FC TMDL areas, the Puyallup River Watershed.

Presentation:
  • Powerpoint slides (PDF)

Results from Current Research on Pollutant Export from Bioretention Systems and Next Steps

Presented by: Chris May (Stormwater Division Senior Program Manager, Kitsap County Public Works), Andy Rheaume (City of Redmond), Doug Howie (Department of Ecology), Curtis Hinman, Dylan Ahearn, and John Lenth (Herrera Environmental Consultants)

Infiltrating stormwater onsite helps achieve the low impact development (LID) objective of more closely mimicking pre-disturbance hydrology. Bioretention and rain gardens are two of the most common onsite best management practices (BMPs) used to meet the objectives of LID due to their hydrologic benefits. Early research from the east coast also indicated that these BMPs provide pollutant reduction benefits.

Presentation:
  • Powerpoint slides (PDF)