An Introduction to Municipal Stormwater Management and MS4 Programs

In An Introduction to Municipal Stormwater Management and MS4 Programs, you'll learn ...

• The evolution of municipal stormwater management from traditional drainage and flood control to integrated infrastructure, water-quality, and watershed management
• The regulatory framework connecting the Clean Water Act, NPDES permitting, and MS4 requirements with municipal stormwater responsibilities
• The development and implementation of effective MS4 programs using Minimum Control Measures, Best Management Practices, inspections, maintenance, and documentation
• How to integrate stormwater infrastructure management, regulatory compliance, asset management, capital planning, and interdepartmental coordination into sustainable municipal programs

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 4 PDH

Length: 54 pages

This course provides engineers and municipal professionals with a practical foundation for understanding modern stormwater management as both an infrastructure and environmental responsibility. The course traces the evolution of municipal stormwater management from traditional drainage and flood-control practices to integrated programs addressing runoff quantity, water quality, regulatory compliance, and watershed conditions.

The course explains the Clean Water Act and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) framework that supports federal stormwater regulation and examines how Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) requirements translate these principles into local responsibilities. Participants explore MS4 infrastructure, Phase I and Phase II programs, the six Minimum Control Measures, Best Management Practices, construction and industrial stormwater concerns, and municipal compliance procedures.

The course also addresses the roles of engineers, public works personnel, municipal leadership, consultants, regulators, and the public. Emphasis is placed on documentation, infrastructure inventories, inspections, asset management, watershed-based planning, capital improvements, sustainable funding, interdepartmental coordination, and continuous improvement as essential components of effective long-term municipal stormwater programs.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• The effects of urban development and impervious surfaces on runoff volume, peak discharge, infiltration, groundwater recharge, pollutant transport, and receiving waters
• The Clean Water Act provisions and NPDES permitting concepts that form the regulatory foundation for municipal stormwater management
• The distinctions among municipal, construction, and industrial stormwater responsibilities within the NPDES framework
• The characteristics, infrastructure components, applicability, and regulatory purpose of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems
• The Phase I and Phase II MS4 regulatory frameworks and the six Minimum Control Measures used to organize Phase II programs
• The use of structural and nonstructural Best Management Practices to prevent or reduce pollutants entering stormwater systems and receiving waters
• The procedures for infrastructure inventory, outfall inspection, illicit discharge investigation, construction oversight, maintenance, corrective action, and recordkeeping
• The roles of municipal leadership, engineering, public works, planning, consultants, contractors, regulators, and community participants in effective stormwater management
• The application of GIS, condition assessment, risk prioritization, watershed-based planning, and capital improvement planning to long-term stormwater asset management
• How to establish sustainable MS4 programs through clear program ownership, reliable funding, interdepartmental coordination, regulatory communication, continuous improvement, and long-term planning

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 20 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.