A practitioner’s perspective

By David Rosenthal

For one reason or another, amid vast and profound changes in stormwater regulation, one very important and fundamental problem is being overlooked. As regulations in stormwater steadily intensify and more requirements are being established, one area in particular seems to be the most misunderstood and perhaps the most important. This is the ongoing maintenance of stormwater devices or best management practices (BMPs) that are in the field.

Many stormwater devices received infrequent cleanings and inspections.

Ongoing maintenance of stormwater devices—and retrofitting existing private and municipally owned stormwater devices—is a major factor in achieving the desired results in water quality and reduction of stormwater pollution. Without drastic changes in our approach to ongoing maintenance, reaching suitable goals will continue to be a struggle. Increased awareness and education on stormwater devices and their proper maintenance, incentives for retrofitting and maintaining older existing properties, increased spending on municipal stormwater departments, and simplification of stormwater permit guidelines are the only ways we can overcome this very formidable obstacle to stormwater improvement.

 If you go outside today and take a walk around your neighborhood, you will likely see piles of debris in and around curb inlets, catch basins, and other municipal and privately owned stormwater devices. These piles of debris include trash, sediment, chemicals, bacteria, hydrocarbons, and viruses; they are just waiting there until a strong-enough rain picks them up and delivers them, untreated, to the nearest body of water. As a result, during times of heavy rain and for the following weeks, our rivers, lakes, and oceans become inundated with trash and debris. Shorelines become littered with plastics, trash, and debris. The water turns a muddy brown, and water quality falls to dangerous levels, often exceeding acceptable levels of trace metals, chemicals, and oils. Bacteria levels also dramatically increase, putting the public at risk of dangerous diseases and bacteria, such as hepatitis and Staphylococcus. Although not all of these pollutants originated as a result of undermaintained stormwater devices, it is reasonable to say that the majority of these contaminants passed through some sort of stormwater device on their way to local waters. This raises the question of why there is so much focus on construction and planning when there is so much to be done on the maintenance and retrofitting end of this problem.

As a maintenance company that services stormwater devices, we have had a lot of firsthand experience with the lack of attention that is paid to stormwater devices shortly after construction. The majority of stormwater devices that we have serviced were found upon inspection to be severely neglected. Most catch basin or curb inlet inserts that had been installed were destroyed or overloaded. The majority of hydrocarbon filters had expired, and even the bolts and other hardware that had been holding the devices in place had sometimes rusted or frozen or was missing altogether. Devices without any type of insert were often completely full of trash and debris. The outgoing pipes were clogged and were reported to overflow during times of heavy water volume. Drainage strips in truck bays and sump pump basins proved to be some of the most neglected and contaminated devices. Drainage strips were often found clogged to the brim with mud, trash, and debris. Sump pump basins were filled with debris and stagnant water, often damaging or destroying the pumps. This stagnant water, at least in California, can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects, posing a health threat for vector-borne illnesses.

Maintaining stormwater devices and retrofitting older properties can be costly.

A major reason so many privately owned devices go unchecked is the lack of any real inspection. While many properties were developed before stormwater permits were issued and are not legally bound to maintain their stormwater devices, the small percent of new or redeveloped properties that are legally obligated to maintain their devices do not do so simply because nobody will ever inspect them or issue fines. Although some property owners take the necessary steps out of consideration for the environment, many will not spend additional money unless they feel the pressure to comply through inspections and penalties. As a result of very little in the way of inspection and fines after construction, a number of property owners simply have no interest in maintaining their properties’ stormwater devices. Not only is lack of inspection and penalties adding to the problem, but a major lack in general education on the subject is also creating a major obstacle.

As we have called on hundreds of properties, only a small percentage of the people we spoke with even knew what stormwater was. An even smaller percentage of the properties were aware that they had stormwater devices onsite, and even fewer realized that those devices must be maintained. These were all properties that were recently built or redeveloped and whose owners were legally obligated to maintain their stormwater devices post-construction. This reflects the poor state of education on the topic. In addition to the lack of information being distributed, contacting stormwater departments to get answers often can be difficult. In particular, determining what steps an individual property owner should take in order to be in compliance with the latest regulations proves to be too difficult for many people.

Many cities responsible for upkeep can accomplish only a fraction of what needs to be done.

We have spoken with many stormwater department personnel in southern California, and not all understand the latest regulations. In trying to determine specific needs for any given property directly from the stormwater permits, one must often sort through hundreds of pages of legal wording, and poor organization of the permits as a whole leads many to frustration. What the exact requirements are for different types of properties is a gray area.

In addition to lack of education, the financial burden of maintaining stormwater devices also serves as an obstacle to ongoing maintenance. This is especially true for property owners who wish to retrofit their existing devices with filters and inserts. The average price of maintaining a single basic stormwater device (a curb inlet or catch basin) is $120 per year. With the majority of properties having more than one device onsite, the cost of annual maintenance can be quite substantial. Retrofitting older properties with inserts and other filtration devices is even more costly. The price of a new insert ranges from $85 to more than $500, depending on the size and manufacturer of the device. This can prove to be very costly, especially considering that many older properties are exempt and that the owner is acting out of goodwill rather than to avoid legal action for being in violation of a permit. As most properties have multiple devices and retrofitting all of them is the only real way to ensure that runoff is being treated before leaving the property, a retrofitting bill upwards of $500 is not uncommon. Combine this with the cost of upkeep, and stormwater becomes a large expense. This will continue to be a major reason most devices are unfiltered and undermaintained. The federal, state, or municipal governments need to devise of some sort of incentive—such as grants or tax credits—to make stormwater BMP implementation and maintenance a reasonable option for individual property owners.

Municipally owned stormwater devices are also in need of additional attention. Many cities, even with a stormwater department and a maintenance crew responsible for the upkeep of city-owned devices, can accomplish only a fraction of what actually needs to be done. Storm drains are literally bustling with pollutants, and only some of them have any sort of filter or insert. Few have the proper “Do not dump” stenciling to make the public aware that these devices lead directly to our waters. This is a result of underfunding of the stormwater departments. Although the cities have been given a major responsibility in the upkeep of stormwater devices, the state and federal governments have given them few resources to properly complete this task. To create more funding for stormwater and ensure that privately owned devices are maintained, a new plan needs to be devised that will fulfill both needs.

A new system in stormwater that should be implemented is one that has already been applied to another water-related problem. Backflow prevention devices on privately owned properties have been heavily regulated to ensure that water being used does not make its way back into the water systems. Such devices must be inspected annually by a certified technician, such as a plumber, to ensure they are working properly. The property owner pays a fee to cover the inspection, and part of the fee is turned over to the city for use in that department. The inspection certifications are maintained in a computer system to keep track of properties that are in compliance; the system automatically generates a notice of noncompliance for those that fail to submit the annual report. Those notices eventually become fines if properties remain out of compliance. This type of system could easily be applied to stormwater. A database of properties that have stormwater devices in place could be maintained, and those properties would have to submit an annual certification that the device has been inspected and properly maintained. City stormwater departments would receive a portion of the inspection fee, and noncompliant properties would receive notices or fines. In this way, cities would have more money to maintain their own devices, and an effective system would be in place to ensure inspection and maintenance of privately owned stormwater devices.

Changes in the way we deal with post-construction maintenance of stormwater devices needs to be implemented if any real difference is to be made in reducing stormwater impact. Education and funding need to be dramatically increased, and new systems of inspection and compliance tracking need to be implemented. Incentives for retrofitting and maintaining the millions of devices that have been installed without any sort of insert or filter need to be made. This is a major problem that will need to be addressed in the near future if any real progress is to be made in the quality of our waters.
                 
David Rosenthal is director of operations with Stormwater Maintenance Co. in Ventura, CA.