Urban stormwater management in the City of Scotts Valley

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Summary

Scotts Valley is a small city within Santa Cruz County, California, located approximately six miles north of the city of Santa Cruz. Scotts Valley lies within the San Lorenzo River watershed [1], with the primary land use represented by medium- to low-density residential development with a growing commercial/industrial sector [2]. Carbonera Creek, a perennial stream that eventually flows into the San Lorenzo River, is the central waterway and main recipient of urban storm water within Scotts Valley.The city of Scotts Valley published a Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) in 2009 in accordance with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit requirements for small Municipal Seperate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) [3].

Stakeholders

Regulatory Background

Legislation has been developed by multiple regulatory agencies to reduce the level of pollutants and contaminants entering the Monterey Bay and bodies of water within the San Lorenzo River watershed.

Federal

Clean Water Act, Section 402: National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to manage a permit system regulating point sources of water pollution. This system requires industrial and municipal agencies to obtain an NPDES permit before discharging point source pollution into local bodies of water. In addition to regulating pollutant discharge, the permit requires municipal separate storm water systems (MS4s) to develop a Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) for their region [4].

  • Phase I (1990) requires cities and certain counties with populations of 100,000 or more to acquire NPDES permits for their storm water discharges. Phase I MS4s are covered by individual permits [5].
  • Phase II (1999) requires regulated MS4s for cities and certain counties with populations under 100,000 to acquire NPDES permits for their storm water discharges. Phase II MS4s are covered by a general permit [6].

Endangered Species Act (ESA) - The ESA prohibits the impairment of habitats that contain endangered or threatened species [7]. The San Lorenzo River maintains a population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which is listed as threatened under the ESA [8].

State

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)

CalTrans Program

The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) is the governing agency responsible for the management, maintenance, construction, and design of the State highway system, including freeways, bridges, tunnels, CalTrans' facilities, and associated properties. CalTrans is subject to the permitting requirements defined by the Clean Water Act, Section 402(p) NPDES program. Though storm water discharges were originally regulated by individual permits, the State Water Board issued a State-wide permit (CalTrans MS4 Permit Order No. 99-06-DWQ) which regulated all discharges from Caltrans MS4s, construction activities, and maintenance facilities [9].

Construction Storm Water Program

This program requires all construction projects greater than or equal to one acre, as well as projects under one acre that are connected to a larger construction plan, to obtain a General Permit for Discharges of Storm Water Associated with Construction Activity (Construction General Permit Order 2009-0009-DWQ). This permit requires the development and implementation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which applies BMPs for runoff associated with the construction project, a visual monitoring program for pollutants (or "non-visual" chemical monitoring program if there are failures of BMPs), and a site map(s) illustrating the construction site perimeter, storm water collection and discharge points, existing and proposed buildings, lots, roadways, general topography both before and after construction, and drainage patterns across the project [10].

Industrial Storm Water Program

Municipal Storm Water Program

Regional

Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

Local

Santa Cruz County Code

Chapter 7.79: Runoff and Pollution Control

Scotts Valley Municipal Code

Chapter 12.14: Stormwater and Urban Runoff Pollution Control

Timeline

Resources at Stake

The most common pollutants entering the Carbonera Creek via storm water runoff within Scotts Valley include sediment, pesticides and herbicides, nutrients, heavy metals, toxins, oil and grease, solvents, viruses, and bacteria [11]. These pollutants impair waterways physically, through sediment transport affecting turbidity and flow rate, and biologically, through nitrification and exposure of harmful toxins to the biological community. Steelhead, listed as a threatened species under the ESA, are commonly found within the San Lorenzo river and its tributaries; impairment of riparian habitats within the San Lorenzo River Watershed could significantly affect the rehabilitation of Steelhead within this region [12].

Management Strategies

The following lists Scotts Valley's Best Management Practices (BMPs) for storm water runoff, as listed by the Scotts Valley SWMP of 2009 [13]:

BMP 1: Public Education and Outreach

BMP 2: Public Involvement and Participation

BMP 3: Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination

BMP 4: Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control

BMP 5: Post-Construction Storm Water Management in New and Re-developments

BMP 6: Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations

BMP 7: Program Effectiveness Assessment

References

  1. Santa Cruz County Watersheds
  2. City of Scotts Valley Zoning Map
  3. City of Scotts Valley Storm Water Management Plan, 2009
  4. Environmental Protection Agency. Clean Water Act Section 402
  5. Stormwater Discharges From Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s)
  6. Stormwater Discharges From Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s)
  7. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Endangered Species Program
  8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Species Profile
  9. State Water Resources Control Board, CalTrans Program
  10. State Water Resources Control Board, Construction Storm Water Program
  11. City of Scotts Valley Storm Water Management Plan, 2009
  12. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Species Profile
  13. City of Scotts Valley Storm Water Management Plan, 2009