Programs & Initiatives

Stormwater quality management involves a large and diverse range of challenges, needs, and information. This section provides ready access to the most pertinent topics and up-to-date resources for the stormwater quality practitioner.

BMP Handbooks

The California Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Handbooks have provided excellent guidance to the stormwater community since their first publication by the Stormwater Quality Task Force (SWQTF) in 1993. Refined and updated since, the handbooks are the standard reference for stormwater quality management in California.

California LID Portal

Welcome to the California Low Impact Development Web Portal or CA LID Portal. LID has become such a popular best management practices strategy for managing stormwater quality that CASQA and its partners decided to create a dedicated web portal for LID.

Effectiveness Assessment

With the help of a Proposition 84 stormwater grant CASQA is developing this web portal to assist the stormwater community conduct assessments of stormwater program effectiveness. This portal will provide a central repository for obtaining guidance, sharing data and information, and obtaining planning and assessment support.

Funding Resources

The Funding Resources section was created to assist member agencies and other California municipalities in navigating the complex landscape of funding stormwater programs and projects. It contains information, links, and references, to guide you in developing sustainable funding for stormwater programs and projects. 

Our Water, Our World

Our Water, Our World (OWOW) is an award-winning partnership between city- and county-based water pollution prevention agencies and garden centers and hardware stores that sell pest control products. Initiated in 1998, the program focuses on less-toxic, eco-friendly products and techniques as many common pesticides are harmful to sensitive species and ecosystems when they reach local creeks, bays, and the ocean. From a stormwater management perspective, Our Water, Our World is an excellent opportunity and cost-efficient way to educate the public and reduce toxicity in waterways from current use pesticides.

QISP

Links to information about the training and qualification of Qualified Industrial Storm Water Practitioners (QISPs).

QSP / QSD Qualification

Through an agreement with the State Water Board, CASQA is charged with administering the Construction General Permit Training Program, which includes overseeing the training and qualification of Qualified SWPPP Practitioners (QSPs) and Qualified SWPPP Developers (QSDs).

Training Videos

Training staff on good housekeeping best management practices is a required component of all municipal stormwater permits. The CASQA Phase II Subcommittee has produced five videos to help with the challenge of providing this training. Topics include: Annual Hotspot Comprehensive Inspections, Concrete Work and Saw Cutting, Minor Spill and Leak Cleanup, Storm Drain Maintenance, and Surface Cleaning and Pressure Washing. The training videos demonstrate how to do things the right way, focusing on positive actions for preventing pollution. They are short and singular in topic so that some municipal staff might watch only one or two, depending on the nature of the work they perform, while others may need to watch all of them. Although the municipal operations good housekeeping videos are focused for the Phase II Traditional / Non-traditional Permittees, they can be helpful for anyone who needs to provide brief, targeted training on the selected topics.

Access to the Training Videos

  • CASQA members who are logged in have automatic access to the BMP Training videos page.
  • Non-members can purchase a year of access ($50): Buy Now 

Trash

Trash Control Measure Implementation Guidance

The Trash Control Measure Implementation Guidance document provides information to improve the successful planning and implementation of trash control measures to address the statewide Trash Amendments. It is based on a current understanding of the effectiveness of control measure to address trash in stormwater and the anticipated costs to public agencies implementing these controls. The information included in the guidance was gained through an international literature review of control measures and a survey of CASQA members on trash control measure implementation. The guidance document includes information on trash sources and pathways, the regulatory background in California, trash control planning and implementation, fact sheets for source controls and operational controls, and more. 

The document is available for purchase here.

Full Capture System Devices

The information provided on the pages below has been developed by the State Water Resources Control Board. To facilitate access, CASQA is hosting this information on our website. The certification of all devices and multi-benefit treatment systems is determined solely by the State Water Board. Please direct all questions to State Water Board staff.

Certified Full Capture System Trash Treatment Control Devices

Certified Multi-Benefit Trash Treatment Systems

Additional Public Resources