The program is set, the attendees are lining up, and the exhibit hall is filling to capacity. StormCon, the North American Surface Water Quality Conference & Exposition, takes place August 13-15 in Marco Island, FL, and it’s shaping up to be a packed event. What’s in It for You? Its primary focus is on stormwater-the only event of its kind, in fact, dedicated specifically to stormwater issues for the entire US and Canada-and there is much here for those who deal in almost any capacity with water-quality regulations and best management practices. On the conference side of the event, 40 different sessions are divided into four general conference tracks to make them easier to navigate: BMPs; monitoring, evaluation, and modeling; public education and outreach; and financing. The nearly 100 presenters come from all over the US and Canada.Presentations in the BMP track, particularly, are relevant to those working in ESC. The conference includes sessions specifically focused on BMPs for treating highway runoff, for urban areas, for rapidly developing communities where accelerated erosion is rampant, and for agricultural lands. Lot-level BMPs, large-scale BMPs such as detention ponds, proprietary systems, and treatment trains are all covered. Interested in the performance of a specific type of water-quality BMP such as permeable pavement, underground treatment systems, or sand filters? Need to know how to size detention ponds or filters? Want to learn about the latest hydrological modeling tools? It’s all here. Phase II: How Others Are CopingEspecially if your job brings you face-to-face with Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), the “stormwater rule” with which many smaller communities must comply by March 2003, you’ll find numerous like-minded people at StormCon asking the same questions and grappling with the same BMP-selection issues. If you’re dealing with Phase II regulations from a different angle, such as setting up a water-quality monitoring program or working to meet the “public education and outreach” and “public participation and involvement” minimum control measures, you’ll also find much accumulated experience in the conference sessions. Of particular interest is a retrospective look at how NPDES Phase I permitting has affected state and federal actions over the past decade, as well as what lessons Phase II communities and practitioners can take from that experience. Other highlights are case studies in watershed restoration-some of the most challenging in the country, including Pennsylvania’s Nine Mile Run and the Detroit area’s Rouge River watershed. Presentations also include many examples of dealing with erosion and surface water quality in a variety of environments, from the Everglades to highly erodible ridgetops under development to karst terrain. There’s also a presentation on one of the premiere testing facilities for erosion and sediment control materials, describing how the Texas Transportation Institute has updated its Hydraulics and Erosion Control Field Laboratory. In the exhibit hall-set up adjacent to the presentation sessions at the Marco Island Marriott-more than 70 vendors will display their products: specialized stormwater treatment systems, sediment control mechanisms, inlet and filter protection devices, drainage products, geographic information systems and modeling software systems, and more. You can get registration information and the full conference program on-line at www.stormcon.com. Take a couple of minutes to check out the program. You might find exactly what you’ve been looking for.
NYC DDC
Awards
Bronx park recognized with award
May 1, 2024
Wright Water Engineers
Photo 297187496 © Altitudevs | Dreamstime.com
Photo by Jane Clark, courtesy USACE.
