Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Storm and Surface Water Management: Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping
Contents
- About Best Management Practices (BMPs)
- General Best Management Practices (BMPs)
- Treatment BMPs
- Specific Types BMPs
- Related MRSC Pages
About Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Best Management Practices (BMPs) are a method by which the adverse impacts of development and redevelopment are controlled through their application. BMPs are defined in the state's Storm Water Manual "as schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and structural and/or managerial practices, that when used singly or in combination, prevent or reduce the release of pollutants to waters of Washington State." The types of BMPs identified by the state are source control, runoff treatment, and flow control.
The primary purpose of using BMPs is to protect beneficial uses of water resources through the reduction of pollutant loads and concentrations, and through reduction of discharges (volumetric flow rates) causing stream channel erosion.
It is generally more cost effective to prevent impacts using source control than using runoff treatment to remove pollutants. However, since source controls cannot prevent all impacts, some combination of measures will always be needed. Adapted from Minimum Technical Requirements Vol. I, Storm Water Management Manual for Western Washington, Washington State Department of Ecology, April 2005, p. 8.
General Resources
- Stormwater Assessment and Maintenance Project - Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota
- Integrated Pest Management - MRSC
- National Menu of Stormwater Best Management Practices - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES
- Municipal Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping Practices, Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual Series, Manual 9, Center for Watershed Protection, September 2008. Resource Download Page - The manual is intended primarily for use by smaller NPDES Phase II communities and other unregulated communities interested in protecting and restoring local water resources. However, other entities regulated under Phase II of the NPDES program (e.g., departments of transportation, military installations, school districts), as well as communities regulated under Phase I of the NPDES program, will also find it useful.
- International Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database Project - ASCE, EPA and others
- Pierce County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Manual: A Guide to Best Management Practices for Industries, Businesses and Homeowners
- Puget Sound Partnership Stormwater Resources
- Selecting Best Management Practices for Stormwater Management, Department of Ecology WQ-R-93-011 #2 of 5
- Source Controls Protect Stormwater Quality, Department of Ecology, Publication WQ-R-93-011 #5 of 5
- Stormwater Best Management Practices Municipal Handbook, (The California Stormwater Best Management Practice Handbooks), California Stormwater Quality Association, last updated 2004
- Storm Water Best Management Practices Study (BMPs), EPA Office of Water
- Storm Water O&M Fact Sheet Preventive Maintenance (
), EPA Office of Water, Publication 832-F-99-004
- Stormwater Strategies: Community Responses to Runoff Pollution, National Resources Defense Council, May 1999, updated 2001. See, in particular, Chapter 10, Strategies in the Pacific Northwest
- Stormwater Management Manuals, Department of Ecology
- Source Control BMPs, Vol. IV (
), Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, April 2005, Washington State Department of Ecology
- Best Management Practices for Stormwater Control, Section 1.4 (
14 MB), Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington, September 2004, Washington State Department of Ecology
- Source Control BMPs, Vol. IV (
- Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 231-B-05-002, December 2005
- Washington's Water Quality Management Plan to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution - Final, Department of Ecology, Publication 99-26, revised January 2004
Treatment BMPs
- Rain Gardens - MRSC
- Runoff Treatment BMPs, Volume V, Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, April 2005, Washington State Department of Ecology
- Runoff Treatment Facility Design, Ch 5 (
14 MB), Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington, 2004
- Storm Water Phase II Final Rule Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping Minimum Control Measure (
), EPA Fact Sheet 2-8, Revised Dec.2005
- Bellingham Getting Less from a Lot (
) Lake Whatcom Water Quality System - American Public Works Association Technical Innovation Award, 2005
- Spokane County Stormwater Utility Grassy Swale Information
- Maple Valley Ordinance No. O-02-198 (
) - Provides storm water pond landscaping regulations on storm water facilities, passed 7-02.
Best Management Practices for Specific Facilities
- Agricultural Practices - Protecting Water Quality - MRSC ESA Page
Construction BMPs
- Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention, Vol. II, Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, April 2005. Washington State Department of Ecology
- Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Best Management Practices (BMPs) Packet - Jefferson County Community Development
- Core Elements for New Development and Redevelopment (
14 MB), Ch. 2, Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington, 2004
- Erosion and Sediment Control - Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control - MRSC
- Kitsap County Ch. 2 Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention (
) and Brochure No. 53(
) Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
- Pierce County SWM Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention (
) Volume II of Stormwater Management and Site Development Manual (SWM), adopted 9-08, effective 3-09
- Protecting Water Quality: A Construction Site Water Quality Field Guide - A field guide to erosion, sediment and stormwater best management practices for development sites in Missouri and Kansas, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1995, Reprinted 1999
- Storm Water Phase II Final Rule, Post Construction Runoff Control (
), EPA Fact Sheet 2.7
- Thurston County Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention (
) Volume II of Drainage Design and Erosion Control Manual, July 2009
- Whatcom County Ordinance No. 2000-066 (
) regarding standards for on-site storm water quality and quantity facilities, Planning Commission Findings of Fact, Proposed Amendments to Zoning Code, and Staff Report, adopted December 2000.
Homeowner BMPs
- Pierce County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Manual: A Guide to Best Management Practices for Industries, Businesses and Homeowners
- Keep Water Safe and Clean - Seattle Public Utilities
- Your Yard and Water Quality: Simple Things Gardeners Can Do to Prevent Water Contamination, Clean Water for Washington, Washington State Cooperative Extension, Publication EB1744, 1993
Commercial/Industrial/Manufacturing BMPs
- Guidance Manual for Developing a Stormwater Pollution Plan for Industrial Facilities, Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program. Revised April 1998, Publication No. WQ-R-93-015, Updated May 2004
- Pierce County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Manual: A Guide to Best Management Practices for Industries, Businesses and Homeowners
- Vehicle Recyclers: A Guide for Implementing the Industrial Stormwater General NPDES Permit Requirements, Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program. Publication 94-146, Revised January 2006
- Vehicle Washing - Carwash
- Car Washing and Storm Water Permits - Department of Ecology
- Frequently Asked Questions: Residential Car Washing and Stormwater, Department of Ecology, September 2008
- Vehicle and Equipment Washwater Discharges/Best Management Practices Manual (
), Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program, Publication 95-056 June 1995, Revised September 2007
- Bellevue Car Care (
) - Utilities Department
- King County Car Wash Kit Resources
- Car Washing in Kirkland
- Redmond Conservation and Education: Washing Your Car? Read This First!
Public Property
- Animal Wastes (Pooper Scooper Provisions) - MRSC
- Green Golf Courses - MRSC
- Pesticides and Integrated Pest Management - MRSC
- Water Quality Best Management Practices for Operation and Maintenance of Publicly-Owned Property (
), Clark County Public Works in Cooperation with City of Vancouver, 2000
Transportation
- Highway Runoff Manual - Washington State Department of Transportation
- Road-Related Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) - Environmental Protection Agency
- Porous and Pervious Pavement
- Effect of Road Shoulder Treatments on Highway Runoff Quality and Quantity - Washington State Department of Transportation Research Reports - The goal of the research was to determine the type of shoulder treatment that yields the least quantity of runoff of the highest quality. Three types of shoulder materials were tested: conventional asphalt, gravel, and porous asphalt
- Pervious Pavement Roadways: Survey of Experiences (
), prepared for (Wisconsin) Division of Transportation System Development Bureau of Technical Services, & Associates LLC, WisDOT Research & Library Unit, May 24, 2007
- Porous Pavement - EPA NPDES Stormwater
- Stormwater Management Fact Sheet: Porous Pavement - Stormwater Center
- Porous Pavement - Olympia Storm and Surfacewater - Science & Innovations webpage
- Salt on Roadways - Application of Deicers - MRSC

