Stormwater Awareness Week
While stormwater might seem like a small part of the larger environmental picture, its impact is far-reaching. How we manage, protect, treat, and discharge stormwater plays a crucial role in safeguarding and restoring our environment.
Whether you're a municipality striving to keep stormwater clean, a construction site managing erosion and sediment control, an industrial facility improving housekeeping practices to meet stormwater sampling goals, or simply someone passionate about environmental protection, we invite you to join us for this year’s Stormwater Awareness Week.
Stormwater Awareness Week Events
All events are FREE
November 12th
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IDDE/Spill Control Workshop 8:00 – 11:30 AM
*This workshop is for municipal staff only
Location: 2606 West Pioneer Ave. Puyallup, WA
This workshop will discuss the elements that make up an IDDE and Spill Response program for a municipality. We will go over sources of pollution, where to find them, and what to do about them. We will discuss the difference between illicit discharge and spills and how to respond to those occurrences. The workshop will conclude with a mock spill drill that volunteers from the class will prevent from entering the MS4 and clean up appropriately.
Registration Closed
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National Perspectives on Stormwater 12:00-1:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
Seth Brown will cover the major national issues in stormwater (policy issues, rule-makings, Supreme Court cases, etc.) as well as other noteworthy topics, such as the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card (including stormwater), resilience, emerging contaminants, etc. He will also talk about the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) work, and the need for a national organization for stormwater and discuss/promote the National Stormwater Day webinar.
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Source Control Inspection Workshop 1:00 – 4:00 PM
*This workshop is for municipal staff only
Location: 2606 West Pioneer Ave. Puyallup, WA
In this workshop, we will discuss the elements that make up a Source Control program for a municipality. We will go over how different business practices generate different sources of pollution, where to find them, and what to do about them. We will discuss techniques on how to find and approach businesses to gain voluntary compliance. The workshop will conclude with a mock source control site walk to identify potential pollutant-generating sources and what BMPs could be offered as a suggestion to the business.
Registration Closed
November 13th
- Adopt a Drain Program 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Location: Virtual/Online
Learn more about a nationwide storm drain adoption program that enlists neighbors to help keep your storm drain lids cleaner. It provides a great stewardship opportunity for residents to adopt and maintain a storm drain near them to help improve their stormwater quality and prevent flooding. 14 Puget Sound communities joined the national movement back in 2021. Eight new Washington stormwater jurisdictions are joining as we speak!
- Tackling the Elephant in the Room: How TAPE Hopes to Better Assess Maintenance Requirements of Approved Devices 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Location: Virtual/Online
Since 2002, the TAPE program has provided a way to evaluate the pollutant removal efficiency of stormwater treatment technologies. The TAPE Guidance Document has been updated 5 times over the years, with the most recent update being completed last month. This recent update has focused on providing a better way to assess the maintenance requirements of these technologies – both the maintenance frequency and the level of maintenance necessary to ensure the effective operation of these technologies. This presentation will provide an overview of the recent TAPE updates and highlight the importance of factoring maintenance when selecting and sizing stormwater treatment technologies.
- Raindrops to Rivers: Creating a Stormwater Storybook Adventure 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
The City of Spokane, in collaboration with a local author and illustrator, launched an innovative project to create a children’s book series centered around water, stormwater, sewer, and wastewater education. This presentation will explore the development process, showcasing how the city partnered with creative talent to design a cohesive and engaging series that teaches children about pollution prevention, and environmental stewardship.
- Gaining Traction: A Tire Story of Where We Started, Where We Are Now, and Where We Are Going 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
In 2020, a collaborative group of researchers with the Washington Stormwater Center identified 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), a novel chemical leaching from vehicle tires, as the primary causal toxicant of pre-spawn mortality in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Pacific Northwest. Since its discovery, 6PPDQ has been shown to be toxic to several species of fish at environmentally relevant concentrations. The ubiquitous presence of tires worldwide presents a unique problem as this contaminant is present in nearly all locations that have been sampled. The urgency of this issue has led to rapid developments in the research surrounding 6PPDQ and other tire-related contaminants. This presentation will cover how researchers linked stormwater and tire chemicals to coho mortality, what we have learned about 6PPDQ since its discovery, and provide an overview of current research being performed in the aquatic ecotoxicology lab at Washington State University’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center.
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WSDOT New Prioritization Mapping Tool 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
WSDOT developed a GIS-based stormwater retrofit prioritization web map to address priority focus areas identified by the Washington State Legislature for funding WSDOT stormwater retrofits, including salmon recovery and ecosystem health, reducing pollution, addressing health disparities, and cost-effectiveness. The prioritization incorporates input from tribes, federal, state, and local governments, scientists, and others and includes consideration of tribal treaty rights and environmental justice, including the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act.
- The EnviroChallenger Program & Stormwater Games 2:00-3:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
The program takes environmental education for our ES utilities to the classroom – K-8. We connect with the students with hands-on experiments and games, letting them experience why we have these utilities and emphasizing ES messages like ‘only water down the storm drains’. We also connect with the high schools highlighting green jobs by running an internship program and a summer certificate program.
November 14th
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Western WA Stormwater Management Manual Overview 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
With the release of the 2024 Municipal Stormwater General Permits in July 2024, there is an updated 2024 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington (SWMMWW). Phase I Permittees have until July 1, 2026 and Phase II Permittees have until June 30, 2027 to adopt the Ecology manual or an equivalent one. This presentation will discuss the changes made between the 2019 and 2024 manuals, cover the New Development and Redevelopment Flow Charts and their place in determining the application of the nine Minimum Requirements, address UIC updates, discuss each of the nine Minimum Requirements, and provide information on Ecology interpretations of the manual.
- Stormwater Investments in Puget Sound 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Location: Virtual/Online
This session will describe the Stormwater Center’s work on the Stormwater Strategic Initiative which uses strategic stormwater policies, approaches, strategies, and funding to protect the assets and interests protected by good stormwater management. Issues cross-cut toxics, integrated water and land policies, GSI approaches, CEC and other contaminant research, engagement, incentives, behavior change, and large-scale installations such as stormwater parks and regional facilities. The work integrates environmental justice, tribal, and climate considerations.
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Effective Staff Training for Stormwater Compliance 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Location: Virtual/Online
New stormwater permits show an increasing emphasis on staff training. In this discussion, we will dive into staff training and learn about topics such as:
– Required Training Elements
– New Permit Training Requirements
– Effective Training Strategies
– Tips for Avoiding Compliance Issues
- Update on Legislation related to Municipal Stormwater Permits 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual/Online
Join James Tupper of Marten Law to discuss updates to legislation related to Municipal Stormwater Permits.
November 15th
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Eastern WA Stormwater Management Manual Overview 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Online/Virtual
With the release of the 2024 Municipal Stormwater General Permits in July 2024, there is an updated 2024 Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington (SWMMEW). Permittees have until June 30, 2027 to adopt the Ecology manual or an equivalent one. This presentation will discuss the changes made between the 2019 and 2024 manuals, provide background on some new definitions used in the manual, cover the New Development and Redevelopment Flow Charts and their place in determining the application of the eight Core Elements, discuss the Exemptions section of the manual, talk about the UIC updates, discuss each of the eight Core Elements, and provide information on Ecology interpretations of the manual.
- Everyone Loves Trees! 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Online/Virtual
They make our cities beautiful, clean the air, help us de-stress, and give us shade and cooling in the summer. They also have incredible stormwater benefits. So why is Tacoma’s urban forest struggling? Why do some neighborhoods have more trees than others? And what can we do about it as a community? Lowell Wyse will share about the efforts of the Tacoma Tree Foundation to bring trees and shade to the Tacoma communities that need them the most.
Proclamation Resources
Interested in submitting a proclamation to create a Stormwater Awareness Week in your community? We’re here to help! Learn about how a proclamation needs to be formatted, see examples, and download a letter of support from the Washington Stormwater Center to submit with your proclamation request.
Spread the Word!
Do you want to help us promote all the great events and resources we have created around Stormwater Awareness Week? We’ve assembled a press kit that you can use to share the news in your community or jurisdiction. It includes key messaging, sample social media posts, stormwater facts, and much more.