How Far We’ve Come

It’s a good idea every now and then to stop and evaluate what you’ve been doing, and EPA has recently done just that with its National Nonpoint Source Program. Since the late 1980s the agency has been encouraging, mandating—and in some cases funding, through Section 319 grants—control of nonpoint-source pollutants. In a new report, it looks at the progress that’s been made and where its—and our—efforts have been concentrated. As the introduction to the report notes, EPA’s support has included “a wide variety of activities including regulatory or nonregulatory programs, technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, technology transfer, watershed projects, and monitoring to assess the success of specific NPS implementation projects. Collectively this work has restored over 6,000 miles of stream and over 164,000 acres of lakes since we began tracking in 2006.”

The report is not a comprehensive catalog of every project, but rather a look at some of the highlights in a glossy, colorful format; EPA refers to it variously as a “glimpse of NPS activities underway across the United States” and as a “national snapshot of NPS work.” But it’s the kind of thing that might help explain to those outside your program the concept of “nonpoint source” and what it is you’re trying to accomplish.

A few of the highlights:

• Between 2008 and 2013, the majority of 319-funded projects dealt with agriculture, including livestock and crop production as well as forestry operations. The next-largest category deals with urban runoff.
• Between 30% and 40% of 319 funding for watershed projects each year goes toward addressing agricultural pollutant sources, including nutrients, sediment, pathogens, and pesticides. Frequently used BMPs include nutrient management planning, livestock exclusion, conservation cropping, and riparian buffers.
• Top pollutants from urban areas are suspended solids, nutrients, metals, and pathogens. Frequently used BMPs in these areas include several green infrastructure measures—rain gardens, porous pavement, and vegetated swales—as well as education and outreach.
• The next-largest chunk of funding, behind ag and urban, goes to dealing with hydromodification, including projects like streambank and channel protection and restoration, riparian buffers, and wetland restoration.

The report also shows a breakdown of how 319 funding compares with other sources—federal, state, and local—on different types of projects, and how changes in precipitation patterns are expected to affect NPS management. You can find the complete report online here.

StormCon 2017 Call for Papers Is Open

StormCon, the only North American event dedicated exclusively to stormwater and surface-water professionals, is seeking abstracts for presentation at StormCon 2017, which will take place in Seattle on August 27–31, 2017. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

We are accepting abstracts in six conference tracks: BMP Case Studies, Green Infrastructure, Stormwater Program Management, Water-Quality Monitoring, Industrial Stormwater Management, and Advanced Research Topics. For descriptions of the tracks and more information about submitting an abstract, please visit http://www.stormcon.com/pdf/SC2017_CallforPapers.pdf.