Urban Runoff/Storm Water

In order to clarify the terms used throughout this section, the following definitions are provided for your convenience:

• Urban runoff is considered water originating from urban areas, including, but not limited to, rain, irrigation, wash water, and air conditioning condensate.
• Storm Water refers solely to water resulting from a storm event. However, many agencies still use the term “storm water” to refer to urban runoff.

As our population and economy expands, Oceanside faces many challenges in protecting our waterbodies. Increasing amounts of impervious surfaces are constructed everyday (e.g. sidewalks, streets, parking lots, buildings, homes, etc.), requiring a greater number of storm drains to carry urban runoff away from the City in order to prevent flooding. This water, however, is sent straight to the nearest waterbody without any treatment, such as filtration. Therefore, all the pollutants that accumulate on City streets, such as oil and other automobile fluids, metals, bacteria, sediments, trash, pet waste, chemicals and detergents, are flushed down the storm drains, causing water contamination. Water quality impairment of this magnitude creates public health risks at our beaches and hurts our economy when beaches are closed.

Industrial businesses have been identified as a large contributor to urban runoff pollution if the proper pollution prevention practices are not performed regularly. Metals, detergents, trash, pesticides and fertilizers, hazardous chemicals, sediments, oil and other equipment fluids are a few of the many contaminates that industrial businesses contribute to urban runoff pollution. Due to this high potential for urban runoff pollution, all industrial businesses are now required to implement pollution-preventive Best Management Practices and a few, additionally, are required to obtain storm water permits from the State Water Resources Control Board.

Urban Runoff Regulations: State vs. Municipal

The State Water Resources Control Board, a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency, has required since 1990 that certain industrial businesses obtain a storm water permit in order to discharge runoff into a city’s storm drain system or a local waterbody. This storm water permit mandates that regulated industrial businesses must develop and implement various programs to prevent the contamination of urban runoff running off their site. Additional information about the state industrial storm water permit is listed below.

Locally, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, a division of the State Water Resources Control Board, has issued regulations to San Diego County jurisdictions regarding storm water pollution reduction and prevention. The San Diego Municipal Storm Water Permit, Order 2001-01, mandates that all San Diego County cities, the County of San Diego and the Port of San Diego develop and implement programs to reduce urban runoff pollution and improve the water quality of creeks, rivers, lakes and our coastline. Order 2001-01 requires the City to develop regulations and guidelines for all industrial and commercial businesses, construction sites, municipalities, and residential neighborhoods. However, if your business has obtained a storm water permit with the State, then you may have already met the requirements for industrial businesses specified in this local order, provided you are in compliance with the state guidelines. All businesses must follow the applicable regulations and Best Management Practices prescribed by the City.