Watershed Urban Run Off Management Program (WURMP)
North County Storm Water Program (NCSTWP)
Public Awareness Survey

Watershed Urban Run Off Management Program

Program History

The NPDES permitting system was established under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972. In 1987 the CWA was amended to require municipal storm water dischargers to effectively prohibit non-storm water discharges to their storm drain system and to implement controls to reduce pollutants in storm water to the maximum extent practicable. On February 21, 2001, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), San Diego Region issued an NPDES Permit (Order No. 2001-01, NPDES No. CAS0108758) to 20 jurisdictions (Copermittees) that make up the San Diego County's urbanized area. The basis of this permit was the determination by the RWQCB that: "Urban runoff discharges from [storm drain systems] are a leading cause of receiving water quality impairment in the San Diego Region and throughout the United States. As runoff flows over urban areas, it picks up harmful pollutants such as pathogens, sediment (resulting from human activities), fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals, and petroleum products."

Watershed Activities

The Municipal Permit requires that the City collaborate with other jurisdictions on a watershed level. The seven copermittees in the Carlsbad Watershed include the cities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Solana Beach and Vista and the County of San Diego.. As copermittees, they have developed a Watershed Urban Runoff Management Program (WURMP) to collectively reduce pollutants in the water bodies throughout the watershed. The WURMP describes the collaborative plans and efforts to reduce the impacts of urban activity on receiving water quality within the Carlsbad Watershed to the maximum extent practicable (MEP).

San Diego's Project Cleanwater provides an overview of the Carlsbad Hydrologi Unit Watershed Urban Runoff Management Program (WURMP) and includes the WURMP Annual Update by the copermitees.

Program Details

The RWQCB's Municipal Permit further requires each Copermittee in the region to develop a Jurisdictional Urban Runoff Management Program (JURMP). The goal of the JURMP commonly known as Storm Water or Clean Water Programs is to ensure our storm drain runoff does not pollute our creeks and lagoons nor close our beaches. Pollution-free creeks, lagoons, and beaches result in a stronger economy for the cities and county in the CHU and healthier places to live, work and play.

To accomplish this goal, the Cities and County have established a Storm Water/Clean Water Programs. Essential duties of the Storm Water/Clean Water Program include public education, inspecting, water monitoring, and enforcing activities related to compliance with the RWQCB's Municipal Permit. Staff performs inspections of commercial and industrial facilities to ensure business-related activities do not contribute to storm drain pollution. Storm Water/Clean Water Program staff monitor and test runoff water for common and priority pollutants, using the data to track and identify violators. Violators of the Storm Water Ordinances are written formal correct work notices and, in some instances, cited and taken to court. In addition, the Cities and County have new regulations requiring new development projects and construction sites to control storm water pollution. This includes adherence to the Best Management Practices in construction, commercial, and residential activitaies.

North County Storm Water Program

Within the Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit, the cities and counties are committed to manage and control storm water runoff and work cooperatively as the North County Storm Water Program to implement the Watershed Urban Run Off Management Program (WURMP)

Below are links to individual city and county websites that details their Storm Water/Clean Water programs.

City of Carlsbad,	760-602-2799
City of Encinitas	760-633-2787
City of Escondido	760-839-4668
City of Oceanside	760-435-5800
City of San Marcos	760-744-1050
City of Solana Beach	858-720-2470
City of Vista	760-726-1340 x1686
City of Del Mar	858-755-9313
County of San Diego	888-846-0800

Additional or summarized contact information regarding storm water, illegal discharges, and other watershed issues, can be found in Whom to Contact.

Public Awareness Survey

The City of Oceanside, along with the Cities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, and the County of San Diego, conducted a telephone survey of North County residents to measure watershed and urban runoff awareness.

In general, the survey found that:

Within these watersheds, automobile wash water and cleanup water from painting and other home repairs are not disposed of as well as are animal waste, pesticides, and drained pool/spa water.
Participation at community creek, river, lake, and beach cleanup events in San Diego County is relatively low.
San Luis Rey residents are more rural than Carlsbad residents, and they behave as such, composting their animal waste and performing more functions themselves, often quite responsibly, vis-à-vis using professional services.

Regarding particular issues, the survey pointed out tha:

Awareness that water that goes down the storm drains goes directly to rivers, bays, and the ocean was high compared to other issues
Knowledge of what is a watershed and whether respondents live in one is very lacking, as is, obviously, the ability to name the watershed they live in.
Television and newspapers are the main media for messages. Other media messages reach relatively small sections of the population.
One water pollution slogan is known to approximately one-half of the population: "We Live Downstream." Two others ("Think Blue" and "You are the Solution to Water Pollution") demonstrate about a one-third recognition factor.
Residents in the watersheds revealed quite strongly that they were very unaware of hotlines to report suspicious activities that might affect water quality.

Differences were found among various populations groups, in particular:

Knowledge was especially lacking in the first subgrouping of newer, younger, lesser educated, Spanish speaking, and renter residents.
in the case of knowledge and awareness of watershed issues, Spanish language respondents fared particularly poorly.
Female residents of the watersheds demonstrated significantly lesser degrees of knowledge and awareness than did men.

The consistency shown by these subgroups throughout the survey as well as their prefererence for television and newspaper messages represents a significant opportunity for the provision of information on a very specific, targeted basis, with considerable chance for success of improving knowledge and awareness of watershed issues and of changing habits about litter and storm water pollution.

The entire Survey Results are available for your viewing. Survey Results (1.4 MB)