From: Stormwater Regulation in Puget Sound
The North Sound Baykeeper’s Construction Stormwater Team:
How It Started
Wendy Steffensen received a phone call from an upset citizen within months of becoming the North Sound Baykeeper. The citizen noticed muddy water issuing from a construction site and entering a tributary to Lake Whatcom, the drinking-water source for more than 80,000 people in Washington state. Although the pollution was previously reported to state stormwater inspectors, no action had been taken, and the pollution problem continued unabated. (Eventually pollution from this site was stopped, and the contractor was fined.)The citizen’s complaint was the impetus for Steffensen to get involved in construction stormwater. It also demonstrated that observant citizens could play a key role in monitoring and reporting stormwater pollution from construction sites.
By combining efforts with another local group, People for Lake Whatcom, a vision for the Stormwater Team developed. The Stormwater Team is a viable group of trained citizens who visit and evaluate construction sites throughout Whatcom County. Team members are trained by the Washington State Department of Ecology, in conjunction with the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County stormwater inspectors. Citizens attend a series of classes to learn observation techniques, survey protocol, documentation using data sheets and digital photographs, and in some cases database maintenance. A hands-on component to the training ensures that volunteers visit construction sites with local stormwater inspectors to gain experience viewing and documenting actual best management practices (BMPs), determining whether violations are occurring, and assessing potential risks to water quality. Following the first series of training events, approximately 35 volunteers and work-study students from a local university have become members of the Stormwater Team.
What We Found
The detailed assessments are used by North Sound Baykeeper to determine whether a formal complaint should be submitted. Formal complaints are submitted when a site is in violation or has substantial potential for a violation to occur. “Substantial potential” means that pollution is imminent or will likely occur in the next rain event. The numbers of assessments and formal complaints for the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 are shown in Table 1.
Since the program’s inception, we have filed reports to the regulating agencies on approximately 18% of the site assessments. This means that we found the potential for violations or poor BMPs indicating that a violation was likely at 18 out of 100 construction sites. The inspectors value our reports. They have used our information to determine which sites to visit, when to make recommendations to contractors, and even when to file formal enforcement actions.
Expanding the Program
A decision was soon made to expand the program and hire a field investigator/manager to manage and further develop the program. In addition to keeping in close contact with the network of volunteers, the investigator recruits and trains new volunteers and work-study staff, checks data sheets for quality control, archives data, and visits sites independently. In late 2007, the program was again expanded, extending southward into neighboring Skagit County, WA.
Advertisement
Lessons Learned
Our stormwater program continues to evolve. Challenges in quality control and data collection have resulted in improvements. However, an ongoing challenge is how to train volunteers how to determine potential risk. Making a decision about the potential risk to a water body requires knowledge of the watershed and its drainage patterns and judgment. Some volunteers find the judgment portion daunting. As a result, volunteers continue to gather most of the site information, but the North Sound Baykeeper investigator makes the decisions regarding potential risk.
It is important to maintain credibility with our regulating community. We work hard to maintain good, clear communication with the regulators, and we don’t want to sound the alarm if it’s not necessary. The goals of the regulators and ours are the same—we all want clean water. As the program continues, we are improving our relationships with regulators as we learn how to mentor, inspire, educate, and expand the network of people who are dedicated to protecting our local waters.
May 2008
From: Stormwater Regulation in Puget Sound
The North Sound Baykeeper’s Construction Stormwater Team:
How It Started
Wendy Steffensen received a phone call from an upset citizen within months of becoming the North Sound Baykeeper. The citizen noticed muddy water issuing from a construction site and entering a tributary to Lake Whatcom, the drinking-water source for more than 80,000 people in Washington state. Although the pollution was previously reported to state stormwater inspectors, no action had been taken, and the pollution problem continued unabated. (Eventually pollution from this site was stopped, and the contractor was fined.)The citizen’s complaint was the impetus for Steffensen to get involved in construction stormwater. It also demonstrated that observant citizens could play a key role in monitoring and reporting stormwater pollution from construction sites.
By combining efforts with another local group, People for Lake Whatcom, a vision for the Stormwater Team developed. The Stormwater Team is a viable group of trained citizens who visit and evaluate construction sites throughout Whatcom County. Team members are trained by the Washington State Department of Ecology, in conjunction with the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County stormwater inspectors. Citizens attend a series of classes to learn observation techniques, survey protocol, documentation using data sheets and digital photographs, and in some cases database maintenance. A hands-on component to the training ensures that volunteers visit construction sites with local stormwater inspectors to gain experience viewing and documenting actual best management practices (BMPs), determining whether violations are occurring, and assessing potential risks to water quality. Following the first series of training events, approximately 35 volunteers and work-study students from a local university have become members of the Stormwater Team.
What We Found
The detailed assessments are used by North Sound Baykeeper to determine whether a formal complaint should be submitted. Formal complaints are submitted when a site is in violation or has substantial potential for a violation to occur. “Substantial potential” means that pollution is imminent or will likely occur in the next rain event. The numbers of assessments and formal complaints for the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 are shown in Table 1.
Since the program’s inception, we have filed reports to the regulating agencies on approximately 18% of the site assessments. This means that we found the potential for violations or poor BMPs indicating that a violation was likely at 18 out of 100 construction sites. The inspectors value our reports. They have used our information to determine which sites to visit, when to make recommendations to contractors, and even when to file formal enforcement actions.
Expanding the Program
A decision was soon made to expand the program and hire a field investigator/manager to manage and further develop the program. In addition to keeping in close contact with the network of volunteers, the investigator recruits and trains new volunteers and work-study staff, checks data sheets for quality control, archives data, and visits sites independently. In late 2007, the program was again expanded, extending southward into neighboring Skagit County, WA.
Lessons Learned
Our stormwater program continues to evolve. Challenges in quality control and data collection have resulted in improvements. However, an ongoing challenge is how to train volunteers how to determine potential risk. Making a decision about the potential risk to a water body requires knowledge of the watershed and its drainage patterns and judgment. Some volunteers find the judgment portion daunting. As a result, volunteers continue to gather most of the site information, but the North Sound Baykeeper investigator makes the decisions regarding potential risk.
It is important to maintain credibility with our regulating community. We work hard to maintain good, clear communication with the regulators, and we don’t want to sound the alarm if it’s not necessary. The goals of the regulators and ours are the same—we all want clean water. As the program continues, we are improving our relationships with regulators as we learn how to mentor, inspire, educate, and expand the network of people who are dedicated to protecting our local waters.