Stormwater Action Monitoring

SAM is a collective, regional stormwater monitoring program that is funded by more than 100 Washington cities and counties, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and the Washington State Department of Transportation under the general municipal stormwater permits. This approach is unique since no other permit-driven monitoring in the state is defined and funded by permittees. Additional funds and in-kind are contributed by other Washington state agencies, federal agencies, local businesses, and community volunteers. 

All jurisdictions — large and small — can benefit from SAM projects that are designed to produce regionally transferable findings. All permittees implement SAM findings to protect downstream waters such as lakes, streams, and bays.

The Stormwater Work Group (SWG), a formal stakeholder group, provides leadership and oversight on SAM projects. The Pooled Resources Oversight Committee (PRO-C), a subgroup of the SWG, oversees Ecology's administration of SAM's pooled resources. Ecology serves to administer the SAM program, by managing funds and executing SAM contracts.

What is SAM's goal?

SAM's goal is to produce information that will improve stormwater management by reducing pollution, improving water quality, and reducing flooding. To achieve this goal, SAM studies and projects target three broad strategic categories:

Effectiveness studies — How well are required or innovative stormwater management practices working? What are the most common types of pollution in stormwater and how can we improve treatment?

Status and trends studies  —  Are small streams and marine nearshore water quality is getting better or worse?

Source identification projects — What are the common sources of illicit discharges? What are some regional solutions for source control and elimination? 

What is the process for new projects?

The Round 5 Request for Proposals (RFP) will open in late September 2025. We are seeking new study ideas for stormwater effectiveness studies and source identification projects. These studies will be funded using revenue collected from 2025 – 2026. A new list of preferred study topics will be generated for this round.

Stage 1 Letters of intent (LOI)

• Mid-Late Sept. 2025 — RFP released and proposal request advertised
• Oct. 24, 2025 — LOIs due to the SAM Coordinator
• Nov. 19, 2025 — Feedback provided to all LOI submitters

Stage 2 Full proposals

• Jan. 16, 2026 — Full proposals due to the SAM Coordinator

Stage 3 Scoring of proposals

• Jan. to March, 2026 — SAM staff coordinate scoring and technical reviews with the SWG study-selection subgroup, Ecology, and other regional experts.
• March 13, 2026 — Reviews are shared with project proponents.

Stage 4 SAM Round 5 project-selection workshop

• Week of Apr. 6, 2026 — Proposal presentations at an in-person workshop hosted by the SWG
• One week later — Online voting by SAM-contributing permittees

Stage 5 SWG approval

• July 13, 2026 — SWG holds a special meeting to approve the proposals selected for SAM funding.

Past workshops

SAM Round 4 project-selection workshop was Aug. 29, 2023, and was attended by more than 150 participants. Proposed studies were presented to an audience of stormwater managers, permittees, and interested stakeholders. See the Round 4 final slides, summary of proposals, and workshop Q&A. SWG considered the subsequent permittee voting and sent SWG's Round 4 funding decisions to Ecology in November 2023.

Keep in touch

Join our SAM email list to receive:

• Newsletters with the latest news on SAM projects and activities.
• Fact sheets to help you make informed policy decisions.
• Hear about upcoming symposiums or workshops.