NOTICE: Stormwater Capture Volumetric Assessment and Inventory – Data Gathering Webinars

From the State Water Resources Control Board:

The Strategy to Optimize Resource Management of Stormwater (STORMS) unit at the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has contracted with the Office of Water Programs (OWP) at California State University, Sacramento to establish a statewide baseline of existing urban stormwater capture. One step to establishing a baseline is the construction of a statewide inventory of devices that capture and use urban stormwater runoff. OWP will be hosting two informational webinars to provide detailed background on the project and introduce an upcoming data request that will develop the inventory. Please visit one of the links below to register for the webinar via Zoom. The content of the webinars will be identical, but they are offered at varied times to accommodate the schedules of practitioners. Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions is included below. For any questions or concerns, please contact Dakota Keene (OWP) at dakota.keene@owp.csus.edu.

Webinar 1: Thursday, October 31st, 2024 10:00am – 11:00pm – Register here!

Webinar 2: Tuesday, November 12th, 2024 1:00pm – 2:00pm – Register here!

Background
California’s Water Supply Strategy calls for making new water available for use by capturing stormwater. To do so, a statewide baseline of existing capture is needed. Establishment of this baseline requires two primary activities:

  1. Develop and implement a methodology to establish a statewide inventory of infrastructure, devices, and Best Management Practices (BMPs) that capture urban stormwater runoff.
  2. Develop and implement a methodology that uses the inventory to estimate total urban capture throughout the state and quantify the amount of captured runoff made available for use.

To develop the inventory, the STORMS program and OWP are seeking data submittals from agencies conducting stormwater capture. The data request, which includes optional use of a spreadsheet template, will be released via e-mail the week of October 28th, 2024. Two informational webinars will be hosted to support the data request on Thursday, October 31st at 10:00am and Tuesday, November 12th at 1:00pm. The same details will be provided at each webinar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How is “urban stormwater capture and use” defined?
For purposes of this project, urban stormwater “capture” refers to the intentional collection of urban stormwater runoff; while “use” refers to the intentional use of urban stormwater runoff for 1) irrigation in-lieu of potable water supplies, and 2) recharge of groundwater in pumped aquifers.

Q2. What stormwater capture devices are of interest?
Stormwater capture devices or BMPs of interest include rain gardens, infiltration basins, infiltration galleries, infiltration trenches, spreading grounds, porous pavement, capture & use storage, and dry wells.

Q3. Are dams, levees, and other similar flood control structures of interest?
No, the scope of this project revolves around the capture of stormwater runoff from urban catchments and not stormwater that naturally runs off into surface waters or is otherwise captured to prevent downstream flooding.

Q4. How will this inventory be used?
The inventory will be used to estimate of the volume of stormwater runoff captured over the past several years.

Q5. Can we send an existing database of our inventory instead of populating the template?
Yes! Existing databases, as well as As-Builts or Design Documents in lieu of an inventory or database are of interest! Please contact Dakota Keene at the Office of Water Programs via the following information to coordinate delivery. dakota.keene@owp.csus.edu | 916-278-8124