Our Purpose… CASQA assists the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and municipalities throughout the state of California in implementing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater mandates of the Federal Clean Water Act.

In fulfilling this purpose, CASQA recommends objectives and procedures for stormwater discharges control programs which:

• Are technically and economically feasible
• Provide significant environmental benefits and protect our water resources
• Promote the advancement of stormwater management technology
• Effect compliance with State and Federal laws, regulations and policies

What We've Done… One of the defining accomplishments of CASQA has been the development and dissemination of BMP Handbooks . Initially completed in 1993 and re-published in 2003, these handbooks are designed to provide guidance to the stormwater community in California regarding Best Management Practices (BMPs) for a number of activities, including:

• New Development and Redevelopment
• Construction
• Industrial and Commercial
• Municipal

The Retail Gasoline Outlet (RGO) BMPs, published in 1997, and the Construction Sampling and Analysis Guidance, published in 2001, are two other important work products developed by CASQA.

To see these BMP Handbooks online and/or to purchase them, please click here.

Today… CASQA has multiple subcommittees providing in-depth collaboration on water quality issues statewide. Current interest areas are:

• Best Management Practices (BMPs)
• Conference
• Construction
• Effectiveness Assessment
• Industrial
• Legislation
• Monitoring and Science
• Pesticides
• Phase II
• Policy and Permitting
• Public Information/Public Participation
• Training
• Watershed Management and Impaired Waters
• Website

CASQA holds workshops on important technical issues such as better understanding of monitoring programs and best management practices. The California BMP Handbooks, as one example, were produced under the direction of CASQA as part of a statewide effort to improve our understanding of BMP application.

Many overlapping sets of planning, permitting, and standards regulations, at both the state and federal level, govern the management of water quality in California. These regulations are constantly undergoing revision, refinement, and interpretation. CASQA utilizes experts to help assess and understand the impacts of proposed changes and to communicate effectively with the regulatory agencies considering these changes.

Programs to improve water quality in California through NPDES permits and related water quality standard attainment strategies (e.g. 303(d) listings, TMDLs) represent a societal balancing of quality of life (for both humans and the environment) with costs. CASQA provides information that can be used by policy makers in making these important decisions.