|
Fall 1998 |
 |
|
 |
Page 6 |
|
Inside |
|
|
Model Urban Runoff Program |
pg. 6 |
|
Water Quality Education |
pg. 6 |
|
The Sanctuary has developed several new education products. These are detailed below. Posters
Watershed Runoff Model Jonathan Bishop of SOS has been demonstrat-ing this learning tool in the Santa Cruz area. "To date, about seventy children at two local schools, and over 2,000 people at community events, have played with the watershed runoff model," he says. "Additionally, several groups have checked the box out for their own use." The model can be checked out by educators, non-profit groups, and others; call Jonathan Bishop at (831) 462-5660 for Santa Cruz or Maris Sidenstecker (below) for Monterey. "Project Wet" Workshop in Watsonville On Saturday, November 7, 1998 another "Project Wet" Teacher Workshop will be held in Watsonville. Workshops are open to all interested teachers. The workshop will focus on watersheds, pollution, urban runoff, and other topics. All teachers who attend will receive a package of watershed-related curriculum and activities, Spanish translations of activities, an urban runoff poster, and other watershed information. For more information on these products or workshops, contact Maris Sidenstecker, at (831) 647-4216. |
Model Urban Runoff
Program is Up and Running
A model urban runoff program which has been developed and implemented in two local cities is a practical, cost-effective tool for small cities struggling with polluted urban runoff. The flexible package of practices addresses the complex nature of urban runoff and offers practical solutions for decreasing the health, economic, and environmental concerns related to this challenging problem.
What is Urban
Runoff and Why is it
Important?
Runoff from precipitation is a natural part of the
water cycle. In urban areas, however, the depressions and
hills which filter the water and decrease its speed in a
natural environment have generally been cleared and/or
paved, and storm water is diverted in storm drain pipes. As
a result, rain water flows more quickly, picks up sediments
and pollutants from land surfaces at an increased rate, and
misses the opportunity for natural filtration. Storm water
that flows through urban areas to rivers, lakes, and the
ocean is called "urban runoff."
The environmental and economic consequences of polluted urban runoff can be great. It carries a wide range of pollutants, including oil and grease, sediments, nutrients, pesticides, heavy metals, pathogens, and debris. These pollutants alter the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water bodies, potentially harming aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Additionally, they can make beaches and rivers both unsightly and unsafe for human recreation and contact.
Polluted urban runoff is a challenge for municipalities because of its complex nature. Unlike pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source such as a sewage outfall pipe, urban runoff pollution emanates from cars, homes, restaurants, factories, and work sites. It is difficult to identify (and therefore correct) the specific sources of this "nonpoint source" pollution, and it is therefore more difficult to create a management plan.
MURP Offers a
Solution
The recently-completed model urban runoff
program, termed "MURP," is a "how-to" guide for addressing
polluted urban runoff in small municipalities (with
populations under 100,000) in California. The program has
been developed jointly by the cities of Monterey and Santa
Cruz, the California Coastal Commission, the Sanctuary, the
Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. Development of
the MURP was a key recommendation in the Urban Runoff Action
Plan of the Sanctuary's Water Quality Protection Program,
and it was funded through a grant from the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
By providing a "cookbook" of sorts, with many "recipes" to address different issues, the guide makes it easy for communities to create a cost-effective program to deal with their unique urban runoff issues. The key ingredients of these recipes are "best management practices" (BMPs), practical ways to begin polluted urban runoff management without complicated and time-consuming regulatory requirements.
The guide provides a step-by-step review of all the major steps required to develop, finance, implement, and enforce a comprehensive program. It covers assessment of pollutant sources; program management, legal authority, and funding; education and outreach; illicit discharge detection; municipal operations; evaluation of the program; and sample documentation for all phases.
Over the last two years, the MURP has been developed and tested in the cities of Monterey and Santa Cruz. Recently, after the initial program period, the MURP team sponsored technical training workshops for the public works and planning staffs of all Monterey Bay area cities. At these workshops, over 100 city employees were introduced to the program and shown how it can work in their municipality.
"The workshops were very successful," says Charles Lester of the California Coastal Commission. "The combination of public works staff, public officials, and other groups that don't necessarily get together regularly created good energy, integrating different perspectives on nonpoint source pollution."
MURP Will
Expand to New Cities
The Sanctuary-led Water Quality Protection
Program (WQPP) is now beginning to work with other
municipalities, also. For example, a proposal has been
developed with the city of Watsonville to carry out the MURP
in that municipality. Watsonville offers an excellent
opportunity to test the flexibility of the MURP guide
because that city differs in important ways from both
Monterey and Santa Cruz. Two differences are Watsonville's
larger Hispanic community and its significant industrial
base.
"The City of Watsonville understands that there is going to be a need for this type of program within the next couple of years," explains Watsonville's Waste Division Manager, Robert Ketley. "This seemed like a good opportunity to springboard from the Santa Cruz/Monterey experience and provide benefit not only to the City of Watsonville, but also to the Sanctuary and possibly to other communities in the state who'll be facing this and who do not have similar working and/or sociological environments to Monterey and Santa Cruz."
Where Things Go
from Here
The purpose of the grant from the SWRCB was to show that
a model urban runoff program could be successfully developed
and implemented for small cities. Further, it was important
that the MURP be easy to follow and flexible enough to
address each community's individual needs. According to the
Sanctuary's Holly Price, Director of the WQPP, "the local
leadership shown by the cities of Monterey and Santa Cruz
provided the testing ground needed to develop an effective,
practical model."
The WQPP committee will now continue to encourage other
communities to utilize the guide and assist in developing
the resources needed to carry it out. Also, many of the
educational materials developed by the Sanctuary for the
MURP program, such as brochures, posters, displays, and
models, can be readily adopted by other cities in the
region.
What YOU Can Do
To Clean Up Urban Runoff
While the MURP guide is directed towards city public works
and planning staff, polluted urban runoff cannot be
eliminated by municipal governments alone. Citizens must
play an active role, too. It might seem that last winter's
record storms just ended, but we will soon be entering the
next rainy season, which will mean increased polluted runoff
from urban areas. Everyone can help minimize storm drain
pollution and protect streams, wetlands, lakes, and the
ocean by following the suggestions below:
AUTOMOTIVE
- Recycle used motor oil
- Never pour used oil down storm drains or on soil
- Avoid spills by placing a pan under the car; clean up spills with kitty litter or other absorbent materials
HOUSEHOLD
- Take unwanted chemicals like paint and pesticides to a hazardous waste collection site
- Rinse paint brushes in the sink when using water-based latex paint and avoid oil-based paints
- Use low-maintenance cover plants whenever possible in your yard to reduce erosion and runoff
LAWN AND GARDEN
- Use non-toxic alternatives to pesticides and organic gardening techniques whenever possible
- Sweep driveways, patios, and sidewalks rather than hosing them down
- Pick up animal wastes regularly and dispose of them in the toilet or a trash can
PLASTICS AND TRASH
- Don't litter; use your own and municipal trash can
- If you see plastics, paper cups, or trash of any sort on streets or sidewalks, pick it up and throw it away; remember, most of this floats, and when it rains, the trash flows to the ocean
|
|
Home | Introduction | Visitors | Education | Research | Protection | Calendar | Foundation | Search
Credits
For comments or question please refer to the Webmaster
Last modified on: June 14,
1999