Stormwater BMP Inspection & Maintenance Training - Oct. 22-23

Photo credit: http://www.villageofossining.org/ Communities across the Chesapeake Bay must manage rainfall that runs off roads, streets and parking lots. This runoff is called stormwater. To manage stormwater, many treatment devices, called BMPs or SCMs, have been built. These devices include: wet retention ponds, bioretention areas, swales, stormwater wetlands, permeable pavement, rainwater harvesting systems, green roofs, proprietary devices, and level spreaders. BMPs/ SCMs must have annual, and sometimes more frequent, inspection and maintenance to perform as intended. Maintenance includes hydrologic and water quality function, landscape functions, and consideration of impacts on human health and safety.  Many communities across the Bay and surrounding regions are now requiring annual inspection, and if called for, maintenance of BMPs. BMPs are not managed as standard landscape features, as they are water quality treatment devices, and specialized training is needed to perform inspection and maintenance activities. BMP Inspection and Maintenance also presents a business opportunity for inspection by licensed professionals such as engineers and landscape architects, and maintenance by landscape and other green industry professionals. Those attending this course will: Understand stormwater, how it affects water quality, and regulations associated with it. Understand stormwater management devices used in the Chesapeake Bay and how they function. Understand inspection and maintenance requirements of each stormwater practice. The workshop is co-hosted by the NC State University Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, and UDC CAUSES. Day 1, Oct. 22, will be offered from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., while Day 2 will be held 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law.  Visit http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/bmp-im/ for more information or contact Dr. Dwane Jones, director, UDC Center for Sustainable Development.