ANNUAL STORM WATER REPORT
The City of Richmond hired an Environmental Manager for the Stormwater
Program in July 2008. Many of the activities previous managed by the City
Engineer will now be the responsibility of the Environmental Manager. She is responsible for strategic planning, coordination and program management.
City of Richmond staff initiated dialogue with the Cities of El Cerrito, Albany and
Urban Creeks Council to coordinate watershed planning and prepare for stakeholders meetings in the Cerrito Creek Watershed.
The City of Richmond initiated a new internal tracking system, Trak-IT this spring.
The database allows inspectors and code enforcement officers from all departments to enter inspection information on the same parcel based computer tracking system. Staff evaluated the new database system and decided to use the new Trak-IT system for stormwater inspections and illicit discharges.
NEW DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION CONTROLS ACTIVITIES :
The City of Richmond General Plan is currently being updated to include the new
C.3 guidelines. Nine (9) planning projects followed C.3 requirements in 2007-08.
The Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency incorporated Low impact development into three (3) projects that were not captured under C.3. This year the number of construction projects requiring proof of coverage under the State’s
General Construction Permit in Richmond totaled fifteen (15). Inspections found contractors in compliance. No enforcement action taken. The Environmental
Manager for the Stormwater Program will meet with planners, engineers, and building regulation inspectors quarterly to review the C.3 requirements, and facilitate program development, management and implementation.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND INDUSTRIAL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES :
Staff attended (4) large festivals (covering 5 days), four (4) publicized community creek clean-ups to and provided support for a garden tour featuring pesticide free gardens. Thirty-three percent (33%) of on-line registrants, wanted to learn how to garden without pesticides. Over one thousand (1000) visits were made to the five (5) gardens in Richmond.

To increase watershed awareness to local elementary school classrooms, two
(2) watershed programs and one (1) oil pollution prevention program occurred in several schools. The City Engineer distributed stormwater handouts at monthly
Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council meetings. Pretreatment staff worked with local creek groups and assisted in an increased number of creek clean-ups.
City of Richmond
Recreation Department launched the “Riparian Laboratory” in their afterschool program. “The Watershed Project” staff instructed students on watershed issues with hand-on activities and fieldtrips.
This year, City of Richmond partnered with Earth Team in new effort to reach high school age students. The project provided students with watershed awareness and equipped them with environmental career skills. City of
Richmond staff offered in-kind services by assisting in Wednesday afternoon trainings and Saturday work projects. The City of Richmond projects were global positioning system (GPS) surveys of Wildcat Creek, enhancement of the native section of the East Bay Municipal Utilities District’s demonstration water conservation garden, and benthic macroinvertebrate sampling of Baxter Creek.
Prior to these projects, staff visited classrooms to provide education on GPS surveys of the physical features of creeks, integrated pest management, native plants, multi-habitat stream sampling techniques, and equipment usage.
Through these programs the students learned about stormwater issues and problematic pollutants such as trash, pesticide and sediment.
MUNICIPAL ACTIVITIES:
Street sweeping removed at 1.54 lbs of PCB’s as well a: 2.14 lbs of mercury,
966.00 lbs of copper, 350.00lbs of lead, 290.66 lbs of nickel, 1538.77 lbs of zinc,
18,807.17 lbs of total petroleum hydrocarbons and 41,033.82 lbs of oil and grease . The commitment of time, resources and training toward this street sweeping program has been, and will continue to be, a serious priority.
Catch basin Culvert, and pump station cleaning removed 404.79 lbs of copper,
849.27 lbs of lead, at least 2076.66 lbs of zinc, 15604.76 lbs of total petroleum hydrocarbons and 37698 lbs of oil and grease.
Parks replaced 40 older rusted trash cans and damaged receptacles with new units which contain liners. Illegal dumping practices in Richmond place high demands on parks and public works staff time. City Attorney’s Office, Public
Works Department and Police Department staff worked with consultants to install a city-wide surveillance camera system to help abate illegal dumping and reduce crime.

The
City’s tree trimming program has dramatically increased use of recycled mulch as an alternative to pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide applications for weed control. This localized recycling of mulch has the added benefit of helping check the spread of some other serious exotic pests like the light brown apple moth, thus reducing potential need for regional spray applications.
The Environmental Manager for the Stormwater Program will meet with Public
Works and contracted stormwater collection maintenance managers regularly to review C.2 requirements, document policies, and assist in updating stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs).
INSPECTION ACTIVITIES :
This year inspections included NOI facilities on permit with the City of Richmond, restaurants, and other facilities that impact storm water. Staff called NOI facilities and requested a copy of their SWPPP for review. Staff completed review of 15
SWPPPs. Following a toluene release into the City of Richmond stormwater collection system, staff conducted two inspections at Reaction Products. The release occurred when vandals removed the brass values from a toluene storage tank. The product flowed to a gated catch basin used for monitoring stormwater.
The gate was breached and toluene reached the stormdrain system and eventually San Pablo Bay. The City of Richmond issued three (3) citations for stormwater violations.
Staff sampled sediments for polychlorinated biphenols (PCB’s) in the industrial and commercial areas on Cutting Boulevard and Hoffman Boulevard. The majority of time and effort in the Inspection Program this year addressed the PCB contamination in the commercial/industrial area on Cutting Boulevard between 1 st street and Harbour Way. Consultants, EOA Incorporated, conducted analysis of the street sweeping sampling and discreet sediment sampling data collected up to summer of 2007. Staff met with Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC) and Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) to share the conclusions of the technical memorandum. Staff coordinated a joint inspection and follow-up meeting with RWQCB staff at the scarp metal industry that is located east of 700 4 th street and south of Hoffman Boulevard. Staff discussed best management practices and their storm water pollution prevention plan
(SWPPP).
ILLICIT DISCHARGE CONTROL ACTIVITIES:
Seven (7) hotspots illicit discharges were identified and inspected at least monthly in both wet and dry weather. No illicit discharges at previous identified high priority spots were found during dry or wet weather. In addition to visual screenings for illicit discharges, City of Richmond staff supported the Contra
Costa Volunteer Monitoring Program. From this effort, fifteen (15) benthic

macroinvertebrate (BMI) samples were collected in Richmond watersheds. City of Richmond paid for seven (7) BMI samples to be analyzed. This allowed for two (2) to five (5) samples to be collected in each of the five (5) Richmond watersheds previously monitored.
The largest category of illicit discharges comes from sanitary sewer overflows
(SSOs) due to line constrictions from fat, oils and grease blockages in residential areas. The City began a fat, oils and grease outreach campaign to address this problem. When collection maintenance crews notify the Pretreatment Program of a SSO due to fat, oils and grease blockages in residential areas, inspectors distribute door hangers and grease scrapers to residents upstream of the blockage. The door hanger explains that there was an overflow due to grease coming from residents in the area. The City Engineer distributed grease best management practices brochures at the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating
Council meetings.