The 2024 Technical Program comprises conference thematic sessions with technical presentations, panels, and training workshops in the tracks listed below, as well as a poster display.
Tracks
BMP and Control Measure Effectiveness Assessment
This track will focus on structural and non-structural BMP performance assessment methods, tools, and guidance for treatment and source control practices. Assessment methods may include performance monitoring, effective operation and maintenance practices, data-gap analyses, special studies, or other novel approaches.
Climate Change, Resiliency, and Sustainability
This track will look at climate resiliency, sustainable practices, and legal requirements and opportunities. Topics include climate change adaptation and mitigation, water supply, water rights, groundwater recharge, energy, watershed management, integrating climate resiliency with green stormwater infrastructure, and wildfire planning.
Construction General Permit
This track will focus on the 2022 Construction General Permit and will include discussions on stormwater related construction challenges including: innovative BMPs and controls; Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation; passive treatment; challenges and solutions to site management; implementing cost controls; resolving monitoring and sampling issues; navigating the different challenges of linear underground and overhead projects; and other implementation experiences.
Equity and Environmental Justice
This track will focus on the connections between the business of water management and its direct and indirect impact on underserved communities and will include: discussions of current programs; lessons learned; effective engagement of underserved communities; and how to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of our work in stormwater management.
Funding
This track will feature approaches to funding and financing stormwater programs and infrastructure. This track also includes asset management – tracking for capitalization, schedule for replacing aging infrastructure, and its role in full stormwater program integration.
Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions Design and Maintenance
This track will highlight innovations in the design and maintenance of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions that improve water quality, protect natural waterways, prevent flood impacts, recharge groundwater supplies, and/or capture stormwater. Topics will focus on planning efforts, pilot studies, design lessons learned, operation and maintenance challenges / solutions, and adaptive management strategies after installation.
Industrial General Permit
This track will cover various aspects of the Industrial General Permit such as pollutant source assessments, monitoring and reporting, Exceedance Response Action requirements, BMPs, TMDLs, water quality based corrective actions, compliance options, permit participation initiatives, and Clean Water Act citizen lawsuits.
Modeling and Data Tools
This track will focus on modeling of all types, including hydrologic, water quality, and geographic information systems (GIS). Innovative data collection, visualization, assessment tools, and quantification methods and metrics will be presented, including how data tools from other industries may be repurposed for use in the stormwater arena.
Monitoring and Special Studies
This track will highlight innovations in monitoring methodologies or monitoring programs and the development and implementation of special studies such as those investigating pollutant source, fate, and transport, including how monitoring results can be used to inform stormwater management.
Municipal Programs
This track will focus on the challenges and solutions faced while implementing a municipal stormwater program for Phase I and Phase II agencies. The track will address emerging issues for municipalities such as workforce development, monitoring program challenges, unsheltered communities, cost reporting, and asset management.
Outreach, Engagement, and Education
This track will share ideas for creating and implementing innovative stormwater outreach projects/programs that are designed to educate the community about stormwater as a resource and what we can do to protect local waterbodies and watersheds. Projects/programs can include efforts such as media campaigns, social media strategies, educational programs for youth, rebate programs, engaging with underserved communities, and measuring the effectiveness of outreach and education activities in increasing awareness and changing behavior.
Policy, Permitting, and Legislation
This track will include discussions of policy and legislative initiatives and their impacts on stormwater, updates from regulators and legal experts, opportunities for leveraging partnerships, and examples and case studies of legislative engagement and innovative ways that regulatory obligations can be met. This track includes new regulatory requirements and developments around the new commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) Permit.
Pollutants of Concern and True Source Control
This track will focus on priority pollutants, contaminants of emerging concern, and true source control activities, including regulatory opportunities and constraints, new scientific advancements, and management methods. The topics could include bacteria, current use pesticides, trash, biointegrity and biostimulatory substances, microplastics, PFAS, copper, zinc, PCBs, and other constituents of concern.
Stormwater Capture and One Water Collaborations
Stormwater capture protects our water resources while providing investments in communities, flood control, green infrastructure, street beautification, sanitation, water conservation, and groundwater recharge. This track focuses on how stormwater capture builds partnerships across entities including water districts, wastewater agencies, municipalities, businesses, community development organizations, industrial entities, schools, and Phase II Non-Traditional permittees. This track includes successes and lessons learned from existing and developing One Water programs.
Field Tour
SacSewer EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility
A significant portion of Downtown Sacramento drains to a combined sewer and stormwater system that eventually drains to the SacSewer EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility. This facility provides tertiary treatment for 1.6 million customers through the Sacramento region and, by 2027, a portion of that water will be diverted to supply up to 50,000 acre-feet (roughly 16 billion gallons) of drought-resistant recycled water each year and bring other benefits to the region. Although the facility is primarily a wastewater treatment plant, the infrastructure available on site can handle up to 60 million gallons per day from the City’s combined sewer system. Note that this tour is separate from the City of Sacramento’s Combined Sewer System facilities.
