Water Quality Issues for the Construction and
Building Industry in 2014
A Presentation for the
Orange County Business Council
January 14, 2014
Mark Grey, Ph.D., Technical Director
Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality
Building Industry Association of Southern California
Remarks Today On:
•
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4) permit renewal for North Orange Co.
Observations on permit implementation and
experiences over past 5 years, and
Land use and building adaptation to the latest
generation of MS4 permits in California
Collaborative efforts (public-private) for
permit compliance and infrastructure planning
•
•
•
–
•
MS4 LID Alternative Compliance Program
Stormwater program compliance funding
Latest Generation of Phase 1 MS4
Permits in southern California
Location
Regional Board
North Orange County
San Francisco Bay Area
South Orange County
Western Riverside County
San Bernardino County
Ventura County
Southern Riverside County
Los Angeles County
San Diego Regional
Santa Ana
San Francisco Bay
San Diego
Santa Ana
Santa Ana
Los Angeles
San Diego
Los Angeles
San Diego
Date Adopted
or Proposed
6/3/2009
10/14/2009
12/16/2009
1/29/2010
1/29/2010
7/8/2010
10/13/2010
11/8/2012
5/9/2013
Additional Stormwater Permitting Activity
by State Water Resources Control Board
Permitting Action
Phase II MS4 Permit
Date Adopted or
Proposed
February 5, 2013
Caltrans MS4 Permit
September 19, 2012
Ocean Plan ASBS Discharge
Exceptions
Industrial General Permit
March 20, 2012
Construction General Permit
2014?
2014?
Low Impact Development principles
incorporated into MS4 permits in California
• Mimic Predevelopment
Hydrology
–
–
–
–
Use natural features
Use site design
Use source controls
Use distributed controls, not
centralized
• Use Integrated Water
Resources Management
– Treating stormwater as a
resource at all scales
– Improving water quality and
augmenting water supplies
regionally, watershed-wide
Stormwater LID Best Practices Categories
Infiltration
Harvest and Use
Evaporative
Biofilter/Biotreat
$-$$
$$$
$$$$
$$
Grading
Rain Barrels
Green Roof
Bioretention
Swale
Cisterns
Brown Roof
Biofiltration
Trench
Tanks
Blue Roof
Planter Box
Canopy Intercept
Constr. Wetland
Basin
Drywell
Uses:
Soil Amendment
Vegetated Swale
Gallery
Irrigation
Toilet Flushing
Vehicle Washing
Evaporative Cooling
Industrial Process
Dilution Water
Other Non-Potable
Runoff Dispersion
Vegetated Strip
French Drain
Permeables:
--Asphalt
--Concrete
--Pavers
Proprietary Device
Biotreatment may
use underdrains or
overdrains
What is the San Diego Regional Permit
Adopted in 2013 Telling Us About North
Orange County Revisions in 2014?
• Watershed-based construct for water quality
compliance (planning and monitoring programs)
• A nod to more robust consideration of regional
solutions through LID BMP Alternative Compliance
• Push for zero discharge of stormwater (retention)
as the engineering standard; minimize use of
biofiltration to meet the retention standard
• Push to remove all hydromodification control
(stream protection) exemptions for development
Observations and lessons from the
existing North Orange Co. MS4 permit
• OCPW reports more than 10,000 acres of
property developed in the past 5 years
instrumented with LID stormwater BMPs
• Use takes several forms, mostly infiltration
and biofiltration BMPs installed on-site
• Generally smooth transition by development
interests to adopt and use LID principles
• Water conservation efforts not overlooked in
achieving clean beaches/compliance
MS4 permits allow Alternative Compliance
Programs for Qualifying Projects
• Permits require that the
design capture volume is
managed on-site using LID
BMPs
• The volume of runoff NOT
managed in LID BMPs must
be “mitigated” or “offset”
• Options are identified in
MS4 permits:
–
–
–
–
“Mitigate” the volume difference at an
off-site location
Pay a fee equivalent to managing runoff
from the project location using LID BMPs
Credit trading systems
Watershed planning elements/instruments
LID BMP Installation Alternative
Compliance Program Development
Basis:
Phase I MS4 water quality permit conditions for compliance
Backdrop: Increase water supply reliability in S. Calif. and emphasis on
creating multi-benefit water conservation projects
• Evaluating and selecting projects and options
• Identifying and creating framework elements
• Identifying appropriate programs for the region
• Establishing “equivalence” of alternative compliance options with on-site
compliance
• Creating participation options and agreements among parties:
– Private development interests
– Regional water quality and flood control agencies
– Water and wastewater districts
Alternative Compliance
Framework Elements
Needs and Opportunity Analysis
Off-site and Regional BMP Framework
Credit Trading System Framework
Regulatory and Legal Basis
Core Economic and Development Data
Resource Expectations for Program
Experiences from Other Programs
Off-site, Regional, and Credit Trading
Framework: Some Options
1. Developer mitigates off-site
2. Developer purchases credits through private
seller with retention capacity
3. Reimbursement agreement
4. Negotiated mitigation agreement (variations)
5. Community facility district
Content taken from Arne Anselm/Rebecca Winer-Skonovd, CASQA Conference 2012;
Alternative Compliance in Ventura County: Viable Options and Lessons Learned
What are examples of off-site project
alternatives for water quality compliance?
• Green street adjacent or
surrounding project
• Green streets near project
within catchment
• Facility retrofits
adjacent/near project
– Parking Areas
– Parks
CASQA 2012 BMP of the Year
Slide Source: City of Los Angeles
• Streets/Retrofits outside
catchment of project
• Regional infiltration
within/outside project
watershed
Agencies Performing Some Degree of
Stormwater Capture in S. California
Agencies
Orange County Water District
Orange County Public Works
LA County Flood Control/Public Works
San Bernardino Flood Control District
LA Dept of Water and Power
Chino Basin Water Conservation
District
City of Los Angeles
San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water
District
Central Basin Municipal Water District
Western Municipal Water District
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Eastern Municipal Water District
San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water
District
Riverside County Flood Control and
Water Conservation District
Water Replenishment District of
Southern California
City of Riverside
Irvine Ranch Water District
United Water Conservation District
Establishing Equivalency for Alternative
Compliance Programs
Core Economic Data
• Cost of installation
• Cost of long term O&M
• Benefits derived from
installation of LID BMPs
–
–
–
–
–
Water Quality
Water Supply
Environmental
Property
Health
Resource Expectations
• Appears highly variable
depending upon location and
development types
• Ultra urban, urban, and
suburban development
patterns and different needs
& opportunities create
variation
• Orange County development
records offer some guidance
on need
• Pilot projects needed in
opportune locations
Case Study Analysis of On-site Retention LID BMPs
Installation and 20-year O&M Per Gallon Managed
LID BMPs
Evaluated
Office
Complex
Residential
Single Family
Small
Urban
Infill
Retail
Big Box
Large
Urban
Mixed Use
Cost Per Gallon
Infiltration Basin
Infiltration Paver
$4
$6
$2
$3
--$18
$1
$3
--$9
Cistern: outdoor
$12
$7
---
$5
---
Cistern: outdoor
& indoor
$15
---
$49
---
$11
$103
$6
$38
$4
$126
$21
$61
$2
$84
$9
Green Roof
Biofiltration
Installation and 20-year O&M Cost hierarchy normalized per gallon:
Infiltration < Infiltration Pavers ≤ Biofiltration < Harvest and Use Cisterns < Green Roof
Equivalent Volume Retention Costs
Approximate Area
(RUNOFF: GALLONS)
<0.5 Ac
5,000
1-2 Ac
25,000
3-4 Ac
50,000
6-8 Ac
100,000
> 10 Ac
250,000
BMP TYPE
$/GAL
Design Capture Volume (GAL) Retention Range Equivalent Cost
Infl. Basin
2
$10,000
$50,000
$100,000
$200,000
$500,000
Infl. Paver
5
$25,000
$125,000
$250,000
$500,000
$1,250,000
Biofiltration
6
$30,000
$150,000
$300,000
$600,000
$1,500,000
Cistern
13
$65,000
$325,000
$650,000
$1,300,000
$3,250,000
Green Roof
38
$190,000
$950,000
$1,900,000
$3,800,000
$9,500,000
Cost Data from LID BMP Economic Analysis for Orange County, CA, 2012
Approved Water Quality Management
Plans in Orange County 2007-2012
Simple example of revenue potential
using 2011-2012 WQMP data
Assumptions (Very Rough)
• 10% of total acres covered by
WQMPs in 2011-12 can’t
comply on-site (total acres
=9,114)
• 10% = 911 acres
• Assuming 19,000 gallons of
design capture volume per
acre using rational method
(90% imperviousness)
• Results in 17.3 M Gallons of
runoff
Potential Revenue
• (17.3 M Gal.) x ($2/ Gal.)
using infiltration basin =
$34.6 Million
• Appears unrealistically high
• What about 1% of sites not
able to comply on-site?
• (91 Acres) x (19,000 gallons
per acre) x ($2/Gal.) using
infiltration basin =
$3.46 Million
Alternative Compliance Framework;
Perspective and Distinctions Among Parties
Perspective
• Obtaining water quality
approvals is paramount to
private development
• Meeting MS4 permit
requirements is paramount
for principal and copermittees
• Water districts and related
agencies hold water supply
reliability interests
paramount
Distinctions and Variations
•
•
•
•
•
•
MS4 permit requirements drive
compliance options
On-site preferred, then off-site allowed
Where infiltration is feasible, then
regional projects may represent best
opportunity to achieve compliance and
augment ground water supply
Projects could be multi-agency, multibenefit or between private interests
(credit trading, for example)
Where infiltration is infeasible or
won’t augment ground water supply,
then other types of off-site projects
apply
Projects are likely to be local, where
needs exist, such as green streets or
park and playground improvements or
retrofits of existing development
Economic Analysis Relating to Integrated
Water Resource Planning
Questions:
Goals:
• Where will suitability of
capturing stormwater align with
expected property development
and with existing infrastructure
plans by cities and the counties?
• Where and what benefits will be
derived by implementing LID
BMPs, and at what scale?
• What is the universe of benefits
to consider? How will benefits
be calculated? What are the
acceptable methods? Who will
make the calculations?
• Make the methods and
calculation procedures clear
and transparent
• Use case studies to test the
framework, and produce the
results; augment with work of
the past two years in SC
• Produce a clear
understanding of benefits and
costs of installing LID BMPs at
relevant scales of
development
Using Case Study Analysis Methods to Establish
Alternative Compliance Program Framework
Orange Co. Case Study Analysis
• Apply optimization analysis
and tools
• Determine and apply
benefit-cost analysis
framework
• Develop alternative
compliance framework,
including credit trading and
in-lieu options using
development scenarios
Orange County-Santa Ana Region
Alternative Compliance Framework
• Perform similar analysis
done in Orange County
specific to Santa Ana region
• Assist in developing pilot
projects to test Alternative
Compliance Framework
• Create a clear, simple,
pathway for water quality
compliance given local
needs within a single
Regional Board territory
Stormwater Program Financing
Funding Needs:
Challenges:
• Water Quality Permit
Compliance
• Total Maximum Daily Load
Requirements
• Mechanisms to raise
revenue for meeting
compliance obligations
– Nutrients and Metals
– Bacteria
• Retrofitting Existing
Infrastructure with “Green”
Infrastructure
• Water Supply
Augmentation
– Fees (voter approval)
– Taxes (voter approval)
– Product charges
• Public Understanding of
Need
• Competing Priorities
THANK YOU Orange County
Business Council!
Water Quality Issues for the Construction and
Building Industry in 2014
Contact:
Mark Grey, Ph.D.
mgrey@biasc.org
909-525-0623