Government

Storm Water

Storm water pollution prevention is not only good public policy, it is also the law. Local, state, and federal law requires the City to enforce storm water regulations and educate stakeholders on proper discharge of storm water to our storm drains and receiving waters.

Unlike sewage, which goes to treatment plants to remove toxins, urban runoff flows untreated through the storm drain system and directly into our local streams and rivers. Anything thrown, swept, washed, or poured into the street, gutter or a catch basin–the curbside openings that lead into the storm drain system–can flow into our rivers and eventually to the ocean.

Even everyday items like these can be serious pollutants:

  • Trash
  • Cigarette Butts
  • Anti-Freeze
  • Used Batteries
  • Pesticides and Fertilizers   
  •  Pet Waste
  • Motor Oil
  • Paint
  • Burnt Out Light Bulbs

These pollutants create a threat to health. They can:

  • Pose a serious risk to people swimming or fishing in our water bodies.
  • Threaten our drinking water.
  • Polluted runoff empties into the Santa Ana River, contaminating our coastal waters.

They can affect the environment by:

  • Endangering countless marine plants and animals living in the San Bernardino area.
  • Limiting the number of recreational areas suitable for use.

They can affect our neighborhoods by:

  • Create breeding grounds for insects, including mosquitoes that can carry infectious diseases.
  • Attracting rats and other vermin, creating foul odors, affecting neighborhood aesthetics and property values.
  • Creating the potential for local flooding during rain events, as litter, leaves and other debris clog catch basins along streets and intersections.​

Storm water pollutants can affect us all. When the quality of the environment around us deteriorates, our life styles, our recreational opportunities and our health feel the effects.

The primary focus of the City of Redlands Storm Water Program is to implement the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program.

In 1972, the Congress of the United States established the Water Quality Act and introduced the NPDES Program to address the problem of water pollution. The NPDES regulatory program is a federally mandated program run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overseen by the State, and administered by California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards.

The Redlands NPDES Program has been in effect since 2004 and consists of business and construction inspections, program compliance reporting, record keeping, educational outreach, studies and reports, and storm water monitoring activities.

On January 29, 2010, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a new Storm Water Program Permit that identifies additional measures to prevent storm water pollution. The new Area-Wide Urban Storm Water Runoff Management Program is directed at controlling pollutants carried by storm water and conveyed by municipal separate storm sewer systems or as they are more commonly known MS4s. 

To help reduce costs and share the workload, the City of Redlands partnered with several surrounding cities and the County of San Bernardino to work together to meet the goals set by the EPA.

Many construction projects require a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) which is a site specific document prepared by a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD). The purpose of the SWPPP is to control runoff from a construction site. The Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP) is the person responsible for ensuring compliance with the SWPPP.

Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) are approved by the State Water Resources Control Board via the Storm Water Multiple Application and Report Tracking System (SMARTS) for permit coverage. The City of Redlands reviews SWPPPs for projects located within its jurisdiction.

The City of Redlands requires that all SWPPPs be submitted for the City’s review to determine that it is within the guidelines developed by the City to insure that granting a permit for construction will not violate any requirements of the SWPPP or the City of Redlands Ordinances, Guidelines or Provisions and that the SWPPP is consistent with the other construction plans submitted. The City will recognize a SWPPP as being suitable for City permit issuance prior to it being submitted to SMARTS; however, a City construction permit will not be issued until approval of the SWPPP has been granted by the State Water Resources Control Board and a Waste Discharge Identification (WDID) number has been issued by the State.

For ease of plan checking, the City of Redlands recommends that all project proponents use the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) SWPPP template and CASQA BMP fact sheets and details. While the City of Redlands will accept any SWPPP format that the State Water Resources Control Board has accepted, there is the possibility that plan review times and fees will increase significantly due to an unfamiliar format. All submitted SWPPPs must be both project specific and agency specific.

Construction Site Inspections

The General Construction Permit requires that each construction site be inspected for compliance with their SWPPP. Responsibility for inspections rests with the site owner with oversight provided by the City. The frequency of the oversight inspections is determined by the risk level for discharge from your site, with most sites requiring oversight inspections only two to three times a year unless there is a violation or a complaint is filed concerning possible SWPPP violations. If the complaint proves valid or the site is in violation, then weekly follow-up inspections must be made until the site and any issues are in compliance. There is no upper end to the number of follow-up inspections that may have to occur. These follow-up inspections are an added expense to the City in terms of manpower, materials and reporting.

Redlands Municipal Code Section 13.54.310, Recovery of Additional Inspection Costs, is in place to allow for the reimbursement of the additional costs created by the follow-up inspections. Under the City’s current resolution for fee collection, the fee for follow-up SWPPP inspections is $482 (2015). The contractor is responsible for these fees.

There will be no charge for the initial SWPPP inspection or any subsequent routine inspections as required under the General Construction Permit. The City will only charge for those additional follow-up inspections required because of non-compliance. Fees for follow-up SWPPP inspections do not exempt the project from stop-work orders, administrative actions, criminal charges, or any other method currently used to enforce the SWPPP.

Follow-up inspection fees can be avoided by complying with the SWPPP and the General Construction Permit.

All Water Quality Management Plans (WQMP) submitted to the City of Redlands shall use the San Bernardino County Stormwater Program Water Quality Management Plan Template, 2012 version.

The City of Redlands, along with 16 other cities, the County of San Bernardino and the County of San Bernardino Flood Control District developed this template to meet the requirements of the current General Stormwater Permit. This template has been reviewed and approved for use by the State Water Quality Control Board. Submittals will not be accepted using any other template.

The City of Redlands requires that the project proponent shall submit a “preliminary project specific” WQMP as early in the entitlement process as possible. The “preliminary project specific” WQMP shall address the project’s quality and quantity of stormwater runoff. It gives the applicant a chance to illustrate that Low Impact Development (LID) concepts have been utilized, the basic design is sound and any assumptions made for the project are valid.

The level of detail in a Preliminary WQMP shall be sufficient to demonstrate that the selected BMPs have the capacity to treat the expected runoff. To achieve this, any pertinent hydrology calculations and all treatment control BMP sizing and design calculations are expected to be included in the Preliminary WQMP.

In addition, enough detail of the site, including proposed elevations or contours, typical sections or details of infiltration beds used for BMPs, outlets and inlets and other treatment or control devices need to be shown. As an example, if infiltration is one the BMPs to be used, a soils report or percolation/infiltration study should be included (if available) or a percolation/infiltration study in the proximity of the site or the SCS soils type (A, B, C or D) should be shown; if a BMP based on flow is called out, contact times and flow rates should be shown.

For the purposes of the City of Redlands, a Preliminary WQMP will contain all the required elements of a Final WQMP with the notable exceptions of the Conditions of Approval, required signatures, and the BMP fact and educational sheets. These items may be deferred until the Final WQMP. This does not mean that every detail need be complete, but enough detail must be there to determine how the treatment of the storm water will be accomplished and how the storm water will be delivered to the BMPs.

As part of the Final WQMP approval, the City approved, signed and notarized, Stormwater Treatment Device & Control Measure Access and Maintenance Agreement and a CD-ROM containing the full Final WQMP including signature pages, exhibits, maps and the Maintenance Agreement in PDF format must be included.

The City of Redlands will not issue a building or grading permit prior to approval of the Final WQMP.

WQMP templates for the Santa Ana Watershed and the technical guidance document – WQMP templates for the Santa Ana Watershed and the technical guidance document for WQMP. Appendix B is an editable copy of the WQMP template.

All grading plans within the City of Redlands require an accompanying set of “stand alone” Erosion Control Plans. The City’s project engineer may waive the “stand alone” requirement if it is determined that the scope of grading, site conditions or other factors outweigh the usefulness of a separate set of Erosion Control Plans. In this event, erosion control methods and devices may be shown on the grading plans.

Erosion Control Plans shall contain a current copy of the City of Redlands Erosion Control Notes.

Unless otherwise allowed by the City’s project engineer, Erosion Control Plans shall be on a 24”x36” sheet at a scale similar to or the same as the project’s grading or precise grading plans. Erosion Control Plans shall show all proposed structures, elevations or contours, flow direction arrows and any applicable construction notes. A vicinity map will also be shown on the plan. Line work and/or labeling shall be used to distinguish between existing and proposed features.

Erosion control devices shall be clearly labeled, either by construction note or text. If the erosion control device is one of the CASQA recognized BMPs, the BMP number shall be included. BMPs from other sources, such as Caltrans or other agencies, shall be labeled with their source as well as their BMP number. BMPs shall be from one agency only and not a mixture from varying sources.

Any modification of a BMP will require a detail on the plans showing and noting the modification.

The City of Redlands Erosion Control Notes can be found on the City’s website. Click on in the “Municipal Utilities & Engineering”, then “Engineering”, then “Design and Construction Guidelines” and finally on “To view the PW Standards”.

NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency Estimates for California

CalTrans Hydrologic Area and Sub Areas mapping, provides HSA numbers, 303(d) listed water bodies and other watershed information.

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Groundwater Level Data Mapping

San Bernardino County Storm Water Pollution Prevention – Includes downloadable outreach and educational materials, current WQMP templates (editable version) and tips on reducing pollution.

NOAA weather forecast

Storm Water Facilities Mapping – Information about HCOC, waterbodies, soil types and other data. This web site only works with Internet explorer 11 or less.

City’s Municipal Codes

General information about the City’s storm water program

Outreach and educational materials – Includes downloadable outreach and educational materials, and tips on reducing pollution.

WQMP templates for the Santa Ana Watershed and the technical guidance document – WQMP templates for the Santa Ana Watershed and the technical guidance document for WQMP. Appendix B is an editable copy of the WQMP template.

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