All news related to Runoff Water Quality

Additional monitoring added to study quantifying benefits of replacing turf lawns

SCCWRP and the County of San Diego have added an additional year of monitoring to a study seeking to quantify the runoff reduction benefits of replacing residential grass with drought-tolerant ... More

Regional BMP monitoring program adds monitoring sites in second year of BMP performance monitoring

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has expanded the number of structural BMPs where field teams are collecting data on the performance of structural stormwater BMPs as the SMC ... More

SMC studies being used to investigate BMPs’ potential to remove microplastics in runoff

SCCWRP and its partners have initiated a pair of studies exploring the potential of different types of stormwater BMPs to reduce microplastics pollution in runoff – with both studies leveraging ... More

SMC planning to double size of Regional BMP Monitoring Network for Year 2 of BMP performance monitoring

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) is planning to double the number of sites where field teams are collecting data on the performance of structural stormwater BMPs as the ... More

Quality-assurance recommendations developed to improve Ceriodaphnia toxicity test

An expert science panel has developed best-practice recommendations for improving the quality and consistency of a toxicity test commonly used in California to monitor the water quality of treated wastewater ... More

Pair of calculator tools developed to streamline analysis of BMP performance data

SCCWRP has developed a pair of open-source calculator tools to streamline and standardize how stormwater managers process raw monitoring data they’ve collected in the field on the performance of stormwater ... More

Custom-built rainfall generator that creates controlled wet weather conditions to be used initially for street sweeping study

SCCWRP has developed a custom-built, field-deployable rainfall generator capable of creating repeatable, controlled wet- weather conditions to support a study investigating the effectiveness of routine street sweeping in removing contaminants ... More

Final intercalibration exercise completed for Ceriodaphnia dubia toxicity testing study

A SCCWRP-led study probing the sources of inconsistent results produced by California-accredited laboratories that use a toxicity test commonly used to evaluate discharge water quality has completed its second and ... More

Mechanistic study to open stormwater BMP ‘black box’

SCCWRP and its partners have launched a three-year study to characterize the mechanistic inner processes by which a ubiquitous class of stormwater BMPs (best management practices) removes common types of stormwater ... More

Microplastics added as focal point in SMC street sweeping study

Researchers will investigate the effectiveness of street sweeping in removing microplastics that enter storm drains and contribute to runoff pollution as part of a newly launched Southern California Stormwater Monitoring ... More

BMP performance data collected from 5 sites to support regional monitoring network

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has successfully collected monitoring data on the performance of structural stormwater BMPs (best management practices) at five sites – a key milestone in ... More

Study probing variability in Ceriodaphnia toxicity testing results enters final phase

An ongoing, SCCWRP-facilitated study probing why California laboratories have been unable to produce consistent results with a toxicity test commonly used to evaluate discharge water quality has ruled out an ... More

Study to quantify benefits of replacing turf being expanded following first phase

SCCWRP and the County of San Diego are moving to the next phase of a study seeking to quantify the runoff water quality benefits of replacing residential grass with drought-tolerant ... More

SMC study to probe effectiveness of street sweeping for reducing runoff pollution

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has launched a three-year study to investigate the effectiveness of routine street sweeping in removing contaminants that enter storm drains and contribute to ... More

Toolkit developed for adaptive watershed management

SCCWRP and its partners have developed statewide guidance and a set of freely accessible web tools to help California stormwater managers take a consistent, standardized approach to periodically evaluating their ... More

Updated guidance developed for installing, maintaining permeable pavement

SCCWRP and its partners have developed updated best-practices guidance for how to site and maintain permeable pavement to sustain its effectiveness for infiltrating stormwater runoff. The updated guidance, developed in ... More

SMC develops workplan for regional BMP performance monitoring network

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has developed a detailed workplan for how it will build a new regional monitoring network to investigate the performance of a wide variety ... More

Data collection underway to quantify benefits of replacing turf with drought-tolerant landscaping

SCCWRP and the County of San Diego have begun the data collection phase for a study seeking to measure how much irrigation-induced runoff is eliminated when residential turf grass is ... More

Stormwater drainage conference helps connect SCCWRP to researchers worldwide

SCCWRP hosted an international engineering conference focused on improving modeling of urban stormwater drainage systems over a three-day period in January that attracted 146 researchers and practitioners – more than ... More

SMC preparing to kick off pilot phase to build regional BMP performance monitoring network

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) is preparing to kick off the initial pilot phase of a SCCWRP-led effort to build a regional network for monitoring the performance of ... More

TEDx Shorts podcast featuring SCCWRP engineer makes case for green infrastructure

SCCWRP’s Dr. Elizabeth Fassman-Beck is featured in a newly released TEDx Shorts podcast discussing why runoff should be managed with green infrastructure instead of traditional flood control infrastructure. The nine-minute ... More

Database being compiled to probe quality-assurance issues with Ceriodaphnia toxicity test

SCCWRP is compiling a comprehensive database of historical information from nearly 1,000 Ceriodaphnia dubia toxicity tests as part of an ongoing, two-year effort to ensure that this commonly used toxicity ... More

Template established for how boat harbors could modify copper regulatory targets

SCCWRP and its partners have completed a three-year study that establishes a template for how Southern California boat harbors could pursue scientifically validated modifications to default regulatory targets for dissolved ... More

SCCWRP-hosted stormwater drainage conference soliciting abstracts

A SCCWRP-hosted international conference next year that will focus on improving modeling of urban stormwater drainage systems has begun soliciting abstracts for presentations, workshops and special sessions. The triennial Urban ... More

Phase 2 sampling underway for study examining how to update copper concentration limits for streams

SCCWRP and its partners have begun collecting water quality data from three additional watersheds in the Los Angeles region as part of an ongoing effort to evaluate the feasibility of ... More

Method being developed to quantify water-quality benefits of turf replacements

SCCWRP and its partners have launched a study with the County of San Diego to develop a method for measuring the water-quality benefits associated with replacing residential turf grass with ... More

SCCWRP asked to host upcoming international conference on stormwater modeling

SCCWRP has been asked to organize and host an international conference in early 2022 that will focus on improving modeling of urban stormwater drainage systems. The triennial Urban Drainage Modeling ... More

Prototype L.A. County tool for rating BMP performance undergoing testing, calibration

SCCWRP has begun working with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to test and calibrate a new, SCCWRP-developed index scoring tool that rates the overall performance of various ... More

Regional monitoring network being built to evaluate BMP performance

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has begun building a regional monitoring network for tracking the performance of a wide variety of stormwater BMPs (best management practices) – a ... More

Study to probe quality-assurance issues with Ceriodaphnia toxicity test

SCCWRP has launched a two-year statewide effort to ensure that laboratories conducting a toxicity test commonly used to monitor the water quality of wastewater and stormwater discharges are producing consistently ... More

Statewide effort launched to improve monitoring programs that support adaptive stormwater management

SCCWRP has launched a statewide effort examining how to design monitoring programs that can optimally support stormwater managers’ adaptive management programs, where watershed management plans, including BMPs, are implemented on ... More

Study launched with EPA to improve mechanistic understanding of bioretention planters

Southern California researchers working to optimize the ability of bioretention planters to treat stormwater runoff have launched a two-year project with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and ... More

Strategy developed for how to quantify stormwater capture statewide

SCCWRP and its partners have developed a six-part strategy that California could use to begin tracking how much stormwater is being captured statewide, part of an ongoing effort to improve ... More

Panel develops recommendations for managing vegetation without glyphosate

An expert advisory panel convened by SCCWRP to explore options for managing vegetation in Los Angeles County without using the herbicide glyphosate has developed a set of recommended alternative strategies. ... More

SMC develops roadmap to improve runoff water quality

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has unveiled a comprehensive, multi-faceted research agenda that lays out a vision and roadmap for how the region’s stormwater management community will collaborate ... More

Sites being identified for evaluating effectiveness of stormwater BMPs

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has begun identifying about a half-dozen sites that will serve as case studies for examining the effectiveness of stormwater BMPs (best management practices) ... More

SMC’s renews Master Agreement through 2024

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition in July renewed its Master Agreement for another five years, continuing the SMC’s research and monitoring agenda through 2024. SMC member agencies include eight ... More

Tool developed to assess BMP performance effectiveness

SCCWRP has developed an integrated web-based tool intended to help California’s stormwater management community assess the effectiveness of vegetated swales, permeable pavement and other best management practices (BMPs) in removing ... More

Study examining how to use flow-capture BMPs to improve San Juan Creek flow patterns

SCCWRP and its partners have launched a study examining how to implement flow-capture BMPs (best management practices) in San Juan Creek in Orange County to restore more natural flow patterns ... More

SMC regional monitoring to include stormwater BMP effectiveness evaluation

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition has begun designing the next five-year cycle of its stream monitoring program to include a regional evaluation of the effectiveness of stormwater BMPs (best ... More

SCCWRP participating in EPA study on how green infrastructure influences stream water quality

SCCWRP has been asked to participate in a national study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development evaluating whether low impact development (LID) solutions for improving ... More

Bioretention soil media being tested to compare effectiveness at treating stormwater

SCCWRP and its partners in October launched a year-long project to test the performance of six types of bioretention soil media designed to remove pathogens, indicator bacteria, nutrients, metals and ... More

SCCWRP hosts transcontinental stormwater management workshop in India

Leading stormwater scientists from across three continents came together at a SCCWRP-facilitated forum in India in March to discuss more effective ways to capture and use rainfall runoff in drought-prone ... More