Stormwater Committee Quarterly Newsletter

Stormwater Committee Quarterly Newsletter

 

2024: A Year in Review

 

Welcome to the PNCWA Stormwater Committee!

We are a group of water professionals who are enthusiastic about the future of stormwater design, technology, planning, and permitting. The Stormwater Committee develops programs to promote the overall understanding of stormwater management strategies, including those related to planning, design, operation, and maintenance across the Pacific Northwest.

Over the past year, the Stormwater Committee hosted three Stormwater Learning Hours, held a workshop at the Spring Summit on emerging contaminants of concern with the Science and Regulation Community of Practice, planned a joint tour of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project in Seattle with the Emerging Technologies Committee, and supported a Water Walking Tour in the City of Boise at the PNCWA 2024 conference.

 

Stormwater Learning Hours were hosted in January, February, and May. A brief description and links to the recordings can be found below.

  • January 2024: Aaron Nichols, a water resources engineer at Atwell, presented on the current state and future of artificial intelligence in stormwater and water resources. Aaron’s presentation included information on how to leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to automate tasks and improve productivity in the engineering field. (View Recording).
  • February 2024: Torrey Lindbo with the City of Gresham presented on a modified deep drywell retrofit project. The City developed the deep drywell concept to reach soils that are better suited for infiltration. The deep drywells are designed to reduce the volume of flow to the City’s MS4 while protecting the groundwater the community relies on as a drinking water source. (View Recording).
  • May 2024: Tage Aaker from the FCS Group presented the highlights and findings of the Washington Stormwater Benchmarking and Rate Structure Survey. The presentation provided insight into the current practices of Washington State stormwater utilities, providing both quantitative and qualitative context for evaluating the types of stormwater rates, charges, and credits currently in use. (View Recording).

In March, the Stormwater Committee in collaboration with the other committee in the Science and Regulation Community of Practice hosted a successful workshop on emerging contaminants of concern at the PNCWA Spring Summit.

Over the summer, the Stormwater Committee held a joint tour of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project, followed by a social hour with the Emerging Technologies Committee. The tour included a presentation on the Seattle Public Utilities and King County Wastewater Treatment Division’s underground storage tunnel project and subsequent tour of the Ballard Site. The underground storage tunnel was designed to significantly reduce the amount of polluted stormwater and sewage that flows into the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Salmon Bay, and Lake Union from our sewer system.

Lastly, at the 2024 PNCWA Conference in Boise, the Stormwater Committee supported a guided walking tour with the City of Boise and other PNCWA Members. The tour highlighted the water features throughout the City including the Boise River, Julia Davis Park, and geothermal heating system. The walking tour provided information on Boise State University’s water management and civil engineering programs, a geothermal injection well, green design stormwater management, and a final stop at Boise Brewing to discuss the impact of industry on water management. Thank you to all who were able to attend!

We are always looking for new members to join our committee. If you are interested in joining the Stormwater Committee and supporting upcoming events, please contact Shannon Kronz or Dan Gariepy.

 

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