Water Quality and Supply Issues Monthly Update-Feb 2022
While winter storms swept through the central United States and up toward the northeast, California endured the 4th lowest snowfall in January since 1971. If these conditions persist through the winter months, California could remain in a drought through 2022.
This month, the CICWQ team worked on several state and local water quality regulatory actions directly impacting the construction industry.
In Sacramento, the State Water Resources Control Board continues to work on a Re-draft of the revised California Construction General Permit (CGP), which is enforced by nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards throughout California. Nearly all CICWQ member companies and workforce will be affected by this permitting action, and we remain engaged in the process at the state level and with our construction industry partners.
Catch up on our latest news and information on the CGP renewal and check out a new presentation by our Technical Director, Dr. Mark Grey on California CGP enforcement violation data and five-year trends.
Regionally in Southern California, the DRAFT Santa Ana Watershed Regional Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit covering portions of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties is available for public review and comment.
Finally, make sure and check out two new presentations by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District on exciting project planning and implementation actions the agencies are taking to make our water supply more reliable in southern California.
5 ISSUES WORTH YOUR TIME
1.) Renewal of the State of California Construction General Permit for Stormwater
Our construction industry advocates working in Sacramento and statewide tell us the State of California Water Board is planning on releasing a revised Draft permit and Response to Comments document, perhaps as soon as early March 2022. Given this expected document release, we may see action on the revised CGP, including a formal workshop and adoption hearing in the coming months.
2.) Five-Year Review and Analysis of California CGP Enforcement Data
CICWQ uses State of California Water Resources Control Board data collected on water quality permit enforcement to examine the types of compliance issues that arise, document the frequency of occurrence, and identify any trends. Dr. Mark Grey, Principal Technical Director for CICWQ, just completed a 2016-2020 data review which examines permit enforcement violation data from all types of construction sites in California.
3.) Renewal of the Santa Ana Watershed Regional Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit
The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board updates and revises three MS4 permits issued between 2009 and 2012 for Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties into one regional permit. This permit impacts CICWQ members working in private and public land development and building, including urban redevelopment, and contains engineering requirements to manage stormwater runoff. A public review draft of the new regional permit was released in late January 2022, and the Regional Board is holding a workshop to discuss it on Friday, February 4. A comment deadline has been set for March 10, 2022. Regional Board staff tell CICWQ to expect permit adoption sometime in late 2022.
4.) Riverside County Santa Ana River Watershed Stormwater Resource Plan Development
The Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District are preparing a Stormwater Resource Plan for Riverside County and just held its first stakeholder meeting in January 2022. Such a plan is required by California law to receive state funding for multi-benefit, watershed-based stormwater capture facilities which protect water quality and improve water supply reliability. The goal is to create an integrated regional watershed-based plan which addresses challenges and opportunities for managing stormwater and dry weather runoff and identifies and prioritizes multi-benefit capture projects.
5.) The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Regional Recycled Water Project
MWD representatives provided a comprehensive presentation to CICWQ on their plans for a full-scale regional recycled water program that would produce up to 150 million gallons daily, enough to serve more than 500,000 homes. Up to 60 miles of new pipelines would convey the purified water from the advanced treatment facility to the region's groundwater basins, industrial facilities, and two of Metropolitan's treatment plants.
