The US EPA regulates stormwater discharges from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to minimize the introduction of pollutants into streams, lakes and rivers.  In Kentucky, there are over 100 permitted MS4s in 32 counties, which comprise approximately two thirds of the state’s current population.  These regulated communities are charged with managing their stormwater runoff in a responsible manner that reduces negative impacts to Kentucky streams.   At a minimum, all MS4s are required to meet six Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) to the Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP).   Activities are tracked to document permit compliance and evaluated in an annual report to the Division of Water (DOW).   

The first two MCMs (MCMs 1&2) require development and implementation of public education programming.  However, many of the smaller Phase II communities (population between 10,000 and 100,000 people) lack the resources, training and personnel to initiate a successful education/outreach and public involvement program.  This is a community need that can be met at least in part through existing CES programming, yet it is overlooked as a resource.

In 2018, the KERs database was mined to extract and catalog stormwater relevant programming for counties with Phase II communities.  Data were compiled for at least one agent from each county office, focusing on those who had identified as a point-of-contact, and shared with the MS4 coordinator.  Cumulatively, these agents reported over 2.3 million stormwater relevant contacts.   They engaged broad audiences and covered instructional topics from turf, pasture, woodland, and crop management to safe chemical application and disposal, to name a few.  In each of these educational messages is a component of water quality.  

Efforts and outcomes of the data mining exercise were presented at the 2019 KSA Annual Conference.  The presentation covered the challenges with synthesizing and compiling the data and communicating it in a consistent format for annual reporting.  The goal was to provoke further discussion with these communities to move beyond the reported numbers and seek a more engaged partnership with CES to extract the nuggets that will translate to behavior change.    As we move forward, we will look for opportunities to enhance the communications and relationships between CES and the MS4s and provide additional resources for intentional stormwater programming.