A New Tool for Faster, Easier Storm Water Plans

While developers, contractors and small municipalities may complain about storm water permitting and compliance regulations, expanded regulations and stepped up enforcement have created an enormous new market opportunity for consultants and inspectors.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the cost of meeting Phase II storm water permitting requirements is expected to exceed $1 billion annually. And with the recent expansion of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations to municipal systems (MS4s) and one-to-five acre construction sites, the numbers are growing. Those impacted by Phase II regulations include an estimated 5,040 small municipalities, with a total population of 85 million people and 32.5 million households, plus an estimated 110,223 construction starts annually.

That's a lot of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) inspections. Because non-compliance can bring fines of up to $32,500 per violation per day, with penalties under the criminal sections of the Clean Water Act even more severe, the demand for quality inspections and SWPPP reports is growing.

A new tool specifically designed for assessment, inspection and monitoring in and around water resources can help professionals complete inspections and reporting faster and easier than ever before possible.

RiverWorks Rapid Assessment SystemTM (RRASTM) is a hand held, waterproof, field data collection tool and software system flexible enough to accommodate state-to-state SWPPP inspection, analysis and reporting needs. With both an integrated GPS and digital camera, RRASTM offers a unique capability to date/time/location stamp digital photos, GPS points and field notes.

"There's a real opportunity out there under these new regulations to better protect our water resources and make a good living doing it," said RiverWorks, CEO Michael Sprague. "We've enhanced our RRASTM software to assist consultants, inspectors and government personnel in meeting these new regulations, faster, with reliable, repeatable results."

With RRASTM, you can create your SWPPP inspection in three easy steps: (1) Data collection in the field with the rugged handheld. (2) Data analysis with companion desktop software. (3) One-click report preparation.

To view a short RRASTM product demo, visit RiverWorks online at www.riverworks.net.

Source: RW.net