FY 2018-19 and 2019-20 Adopted Operating and CIP Budget

Stormwater Pollution Prevention

232.5810

Division Description The Stormwater Pollution Prevention program is responsible for ensuring that the City is operating in compliance with State and Federal Laws which prevent and reduce pollution in stormwater runoff. As mandated by the Federal Clean Water Act and enforced by the State’s Regional Water Quality Control Board, stormwater pollution prevention activities are designed to keep a broad range of pollutants away from local streams and creeks. In addition to public education activities, the stormwater program addresses street sweeping, places rules on the design and construction of new development, monitors spills and general water quality in creeks through inspections and sampling, and requires that the City ensure that City operations reduce or eliminate stormwater pollution. The Environmental Programs Coordinator working on stormwater issues also supports stormwater pollution prevention for the City of Gilroy, which through an agreement for service funds 50% of the costs of this position. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) adopted a Total Maximum Daily Load for fecal coliform that requires the City to actively monitor water quality in streams both within and outside of the City limits. The City has established a cooperative agreement to monitor several of these sites with neighboring jurisdictions in order to share costs and avoid duplication. In June 2016, the Regional Board issued a Water Code Section 13267 Technical Report Order that required the City to set up a program to evaluate the effectiveness of stormwater control measures in the City at reducing pollution, and to report on the progress of program establishment through four milestone technical reporting deadlines. As a way to meet the reporting deadlines the City subscribed to a spatially-based online reporting platform in 2017. Management of the program requires careful coordination between the Stormwater Pollution Prevention program, Engineering Department, property owners throughout the City of Morgan Hill, and third-party inspectors. Federal and State requirements that guide the Stormwater Pollution Prevention program have become increasingly comprehensive in the last two years as amendments and additions to existing regulations have been adopted. Topics related to the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program that could affect the budget in coming years are described below. • Trash Amendments – The Trash Amendments require the City of Morgan Hill to install infrastructure that captures all trash in the City down to 5 mm (about the size of a drinking straw) in priority land use areas including commercial, industrial, mixed-use, transit oriented, and high density residential development. The City has approximately 10 years to demonstrate full compliance with the Trash Amendments and will be required to upkeep and maintain installed trash capture infrastructure in perpetuity. Costs for compliance with the Trash Amendments are currently unknown pending further studies.

COMMUNITY SERVICES 189