SAM's source control projects are focused on learning which actions by permittees and businesses in Western Washington are successful in preventing illicit discharges, detecting and reducing pollutants to stormwater. Source control projects can include monitoring but can also have a broader focus to provide information for adaptive management of stormwater. The Stormwater Work Group (SWG) organizes permittees and stakeholders to select the SAM study topics.
What is the process for new projects?
We want your proposals for effectiveness studies and source identification studies or projects that support the implementation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase I and Western Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permits. Successful, SWG-approved studies will be funded during this current permit term 2019-2024. See the effectiveness studies page for more information.
Upcoming trainings
Sept. - Nov. 2020: Updates to the Illicit Connection and Illicit Discharges Manual
A King County led SAM project recently published the 2020 update to the Illict Connection and Illicit Discharge Field Screening and Source Tracing Manual (IC-ID Manual) and will host eight opportunities to attend a no cost training on the updated IDDE field methods. These were in-person trainings that are now being adapted so you can participate online.
Visit the following webpages to download your copy of the updated manual and worksheets and for information on registering for the trainings.
Completed SAM source identification studies
SAM source ID projects can occur at site or regional scales and the results can be used across jurisdictions.
Illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) incidents are recorded by Western Washington municipal stormwater permittees in many formats. The first SAM source identification project compiled the IDDE incidents reported to Ecology from 2014 into a dataset of almost 3,000 incidents. This represents a first step in capturing the breadth and scale of incident investigation work.
Key findings
- A wide variety of methods are used by permittees to report IDDE efforts to Ecology, requiring a significant effort to compile and learn about local efforts, resource needs, and common solutions. Standardization of reporting is recommended; for example, by spreadsheet.
- Municipal stormwater staff invest a substantial amount of time investigating and addressing potential incidents. Response is quick, usually within one to three days.
- The most common stormwater problems were:
- Petroleum hydrocarbons and other vehicle fluids — often from accidents
- Sediment from construction sites
- Chemicals from industrial activities
- Sewage from illicit connections
- Most incidents were reported to local governments via hotlines or citizen calls. A significant number of incidents investigated were not illicit discharges, but allowable discharges. Permittees will continue to spend time and effort on such calls.
In 2016-17 the Stormwater Work Group's Source Identification Subgroup revised the illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE)
recommendations for which fields should be in the form for consideration by Ecology's permit managers. This revision should help standardize data collection for the next permit cycle.