Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership
Get Involved Report Illegal Dumping
New Development
Maintenance Agreements
Proprietary Stormwater Quality Treatment Devices
Stormwater Quality Design Manual
Sacramento Area Hydrology Model (SAHM)
State of California Trash Implementation Program

New Development

The Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership’s New Development program addresses post-construction stormwater quantity and quality from new development and re-development projects. The goal is to protect local creeks and rivers by reducing the discharge of pollutants found in stormwater resulting from new developments to the Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP) and by mitigating increased flows that can cause erosion and degrade habitat.

New Development Program Documents:

Maintenance Agreements

The property owner is ultimately responsible for the operation and maintenance and long-term performance of the stormwater quality control measure(s) on the site. Failure to properly operate and maintain the measures could result in no treatment of site runoff, or a slug loading of pollutants to the storm drain system. Both consequences will result in violation of the local permitting agencies’ municipal codes, as well as state and federal water quality regulations.
For projects installing stormwater quality treatment measures from the design manual, verification of maintenance is required. This is mandated by the agencies’ State-issued stormwater permits. The local agencies currently require execution of a maintenance agreement or covenant with the property owner, which is recorded with the property deed and follows property ownership. Such maintenance agreements require reconstruction or replacement of the feature when it fails to function properly.

Check with the local permitting agency about their maintenance submittal and recording requirements.
See Appendix B in the Design Manual for additional information and sample maintenance covenants.

Proprietary Stormwater Quality Treatment Devices

Accepted Devices

The following proprietary stormwater quality treatment devices are currently accepted for use in Sacramento County:

Devices seeking approval for use in the Sacramento area have to follow the revised Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership (Partnership) Protocol for approval of Proprietary Devices, 2014 (Sacramento Protocol).

Manufacturers are invited to submit data for review and approval by the Partnership. Proposals shall be submitted to Fernando Duenas at FDuenas@cityofsacramento.org and Archie Wright at wrightar@sacCounty.gov. Proposals will be accepted between April 1st through May 1st of each year, with reviews to be completed by June 30th.

In addition to devices accepted using the Sacramento Protocol, the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership (Partnership) will consider accepting technologies with the Washington State Department of Ecology’s General Use Level Designation for Basic (TSS) Treatment on a case by case basis. Refer to Ecology’s Evaluation of Emerging Stormwater Treatment Technologies for more information on their technology evaluation program and protocols- TAPE (Technology Assessment Protocol – Ecology).

History

In November 1999, the Partnership published the report “Investigation of Structural Control Measures for New Development”. The report documents the protocol that must be followed in order for a particular device to be accepted for use in the Sacramento area. The protocol has since been revised to reflect the evolving nature of this industry. Please refer to the revised 2014 Sacramento Protocol for more details.

Pilot Study Monitoring Requirements

In select cases, the local permitting agency may allow the use of alternative (non-approved) proprietary treatment measures as a “pilot study.” In such cases, the property owner and/or manufacturer will be required to fund and complete a monitoring study to verify the device’s performance. Since approval is not guaranteed, site designers proposing to use an alternative technique should coordinate with the permitting agency early in the site design process.

Improvement Plans Submittal Requirements 

Site designers proposing to use proprietary stormwater quality treatment devices shall include the following items in the submittal and on the improvement plans (drawings to scale):

  • Acknowledgement from manufacturer that their device will be used in a
    pilot study.
  • Sizing calculations
  • Plan view of device & appurtenances on the civil site plans
  • Section view of device & appurtenances in reference to other utilities
  • Detail drawings of device & appurtenances
  • Specifications and installation notes.

Currently, the City & County of Sacramento do not allow proprietary stormwater quality treatment devices to be installed in the public right-of-way or in areas where the local agency would be required to conduct maintenance. Other local agencies may or may not allow this; check with your permitting agency for verification.

Maintenance Agreements are required to ensure proper maintenance of the selected stormwater quality treatment device.

Stormwater Quality Design Manual

The Stormwater Quality Design Manual for Sacramento Region provides locally-adapted information for design and selection of multiple categories of stormwater quality control measures: source control, hydromodification control, treatment control, and low impact development measures. The 2018 edition of the Design Manual is based on the 2007 Stormwater Quality Design Manual for the Sacramento and South Placer Regions, but has been revised to incorporate hydromodification management and low impact development design standards.

Important Update- Revised Stormwater Quality Design Manual Exemption Language  The effective date of the revision is July 19, 2021.

Not sure which stormwater quality requirements apply to your project? Check out Table 3-2 and Table 3-3

Want to know how many LID points you need for your project, or how much volume you need to treat? Please see the revised residential and commercial LID Credits Worksheets!

The Partnership conducted a public workshop about the revised Design Manual on October 27, 2017. Here is a link to the presentation slides: Design Manual Review

The revised Design Manual was posted for public review from October 4, 2017 to January 2, 2018.  For a list of all the comments received and responses to comments, please click here.

Please review this table for agency policy on including low impact development features in the Right-Of-Way.

Have questions? We are here to help. Please submit questions to Archie Wright (County of Sacramento) at wrightar@sacCounty.gov or Fernando Duenas (City of Sacramento) at fduenas@cityofsacramento.org.

Download Documents:

Sacramento Area Hydrology Model (SAHM)

The Sacramento Area Hydrology Model (SAHM) was developed by the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership (Partnership) as part of the Hydromodification Management Plan (HMP) project.  This tool is intended to assist Engineers in designing BMPs that meet upcoming hydromodification management requirements and low impact development requirements.  The Partnership’s proposed hydromodification management requirements are presented in the revised HMP that was submitted to Central Valley Regional Board for approval in February 2013.  The HMP was finalized in December 2017.

SAHM Training

State of California Trash Implementation Program

State of California Trash Implementation Program

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