Stormwater Resource Plans

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA

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Lotus Water worked with its partners Paradigm Environmental and the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) to develop the Stormwater Resource Plan (SWRP) for Santa Clara County. The SWRP identifies public and private projects, policies, and programs that will enable the County to meet NPDES water quality requirements. Lotus’ role included identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing green infrastructure opportunities throughout the County and developing concept designs for the most promising projects. Projects must be designed to meet the MS4 permit’s C3 requirements and collectively must achieve the mercury and PCB reductions associated with TMDLs for Santa Clara Basin.

The approach to identify candidate project sites included a broad spatial analysis of physical characteristics including surface drainage, collection system hydraulics, geotechnical properties, slope, and land use. Appropriate technologies are identified for these sites, which are then screened based on cost, performance, feasibility, and multi-benefit criteria. Multi-benefit criteria included synergies with other planned county projects, flood reduction, groundwater recharge, benefits to disadvantaged communities, and habitat creation. Lotus then led site assessments and interagency coordination with the 13 SCVURPPP co-permittees to identify the top sites to progress to concept design. Lotus developed 13 concept designs in Santa Clara Basin that included green streets, LID retrofits, and regional stormwater projects. Final design concepts cost-effectively achieved regulatory compliance while supporting agency initiatives and maximizing community and environmental benefits.