Stormwater Permitting Support Activities

By Ken MacKenzie, Senior Project Engineer, Master Planning Program

The District continued to be active in the stormwater quality arena in 2006, with commitments to the following organizations and activities:

Colorado MS4 Stormwater Group:  The District continued to host quarterly meetings to discuss stormwater issues in 2006.  These meetings were open to all Colorado communities affected by the Clean Water Act, which requires permits for municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) discharges.  These meetings served as a forum to exchange ideas and experiences, set up workgroups, and report on accomplishments.

NPDES Phase I Joint Task Force:  In 1990, the cities of Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood joined forces with the District to form the Joint Task Force (JTF).  The three cities are “Phase I” MS4 communities under EPA regulations because their populations are greater than 100,000.  This group continues to work together on permit-related stormwater activities, including stormwater monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of management programs.  The District, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), manages a storm-event monitoring program of the South Platte River and tributaries for the JTF, and in 2006 stream water was sampled for quality at five locations and during eight storms.  This group is currently focusing on an operations and maintenance manual for stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs), and is pursuing the creation of a program of scientific investigation by which new BMP technologies may be evaluated for site-specific appropriateness.

Colorado Stormwater Council:  The District is pleased to support this newly established organization of Colorado MS4 permittees.  This Colorado non-profit will provide education for its members, aid in the development and implementation of stormwater programs at a local level, and a voice for its members when representation at regulatory hearings or other meetings of decision makers is warranted.

Structural BMP Testing:  The District’s program to monitor and test structural BMPs continued in 2006.  Several storms were sampled at an extended-detention basin at Grant Ranch and at a porous-concrete pavement site in Lakewood.  Design is currently underway for a new open-bed sand filter BMP for the Lakewood city shops, an industrial setting where the District has put many BMPs to the test over the past twelve years.