Npdes Phase Ii Stormwater Rule – An Excellent Opportunity To Get Students Involved In A Service Learning Project

The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Stormwater Rule was implemented to improve surface water quality by reducing the pollutant discharges by stormwater. The NPDES Phase II Rule requires the development of a stormwater management plan for small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) that includes six minimum control measures. These measures are public education and outreach, public involvement and participation on stormwater impacts, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site stormwater runoff control, post-construction stormwater management in new development and redevelopment, and pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations. In the State of Connecticut, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulates enforcement through its General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small MS4s. Because of the emphasis on public involvement, there are numerous opportunities for environmental engineering students to assist in the implementation of a town’s stormwater management plan. As part of the Water Quality Engineering course at the University of Hartford, students performed a service learning project where they monitored stormwater outfall from three residential areas in Bloomfield, CT. The project provided both a meaningful service to the community as well as a relevant learning experience for the student. Specifically, the project supplemented the data that the town is required to collect for the minimum control measure of illicit discharge detection and elimination. Also, the students were required to design and construct an inexpensive automatic mechanical water sampler, investigate the differences between stormwater quality at the three residential sites, analyze the variability in water quality between rain events, and become familiar with the Small MS4 General Permit and the town’s stormwater management plan. Presentations by Bloomfield’s Town Engineer and an engineer from the CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) helped the students better understand the NPDES Phase II Rule.