University of California, San Diego
OP-22: Rainwater Management

New development is designed to conform to the storm water treatment standards and green infrastructure standards as listed in the County of San Diego Standard Urban Storm Water Mitigation Plan (SUSMP), including the Hydromodification Management Plan (HMP) requirements or equivalent UC San Diego requirements. Low Impact Development (LID) requirements are evaluated for each project by Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) and Capital Program Management (CPM) and implemented as appropriate. EH&S ensures the long-term operation and maintenance of the LID and Best Management Practices (BMP) systems. EH&S reviews storm water monitoring data on an annual basis and evaluates new storm water pollution prevention controls for implementation as needed.  

In accordance with UC San Diego’s Phase II Small MS4 General permit, construction projects that create and/or replace 2,500 square feet or greater of impervious surface are required to include specific site design requirements and Low Impact Development (“LID”) design standards. These green infrastructure and LID standards emphasize landscape-based site design features and provide multiple benefits in addition to storm water runoff and pollutant load reduction (e.g., shading from trees, wildlife habitat from stream setbacks, reduced need for pesticides and irrigation from soil quality improvement). 

UC San Diego also complies with the General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activity which requires construction projects 1 acre in size or greater to implement Low Impact Development (LID) design features to ensure there is no net increase in overall site runoff and to match pre-project hydrology by maintaining runoff volume and drainage concentrations. To offset increases in impervious surfaces from roofs and paved surfaces, LID BMPs such as bioretention basins and rain gardens are used. 

All construction projects include storm water title sheets in their construction plan set regardless of size (provided the project design team in AutoCAD). These include a water quality pollution prevention plan, construction best management practices, post-construction LID and storm water treatment requirements, biofiltration basin protection standards, biofiltration inspection schedule notes, post construction BMP commissioning, permanent BMP operation and maintenance procedures, storm water inlet labeling requirements, and environmental mitigation requirements.  These standard requirements help ensure that appropriate BMPs are implemented and maintained for development and redevelopment projects regardless of size. Having the storm water title sheets included in the project plan set ensures these requirements will not be overlooked during the construction phase.  

UC SAN DIEGO’S STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN 
UC San Diego's Storm Water Management Plan aims to prevent or reduce the potential discharge of  
pollutants into UC San Diego storm drains. 

The plan describes: 

 
 
UC SAN DIEGO’S STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 
UC San Diego’s Storm Water Management Program is designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants “to the maximum extent possible.” Minimum control measures include public education/outreach and participation, elimination of illicit discharges, construction site storm water runoff control, post-construction storm water management, and pollution prevention for municipal operations.  

The storm water management program on campus includes:  

(1) Design guidelines to incorporate storm water treatment controls into new development to improve the quality of storm water runoff and to ensure that post construction runoff volumes do not exceed pre-construction values (no net gain);  

(2) Storm drain markers so students, staff, faculty, and the public are aware that these drains discharge directly to the ocean and that only storm water should go into them;  

(3) A “Best Management Practices” handbook for outdoor work activities with guidance on how to prevent pollutants from going into storm drains and into the ocean;  

(4) Training/outreach on storm water pollution prevention;  

(5) Innovative engineering controls such as media filters, biofiltration basins, and bioswales to remove pollutants from storm water run-off and to prevent dry weather flows such as irrigation run-off or wash water from going into storm drains; and  

(6) Spill prevention and response resources (spill kits) and training to prevent an outdoor spill from going into a storm drain. UC San Diego has also formed valuable partnerships with the City of San Diego, Urban Corps of San Diego, San Diego Coastkeeper, County Water Authority, San Diego IRWM, CA Department of Water Resources, and the State Water Resources Control Board to implement multiple storm water pollution prevention projects to protect our ocean resources. 

An additional area of highlight is the Storm Water Management Program: Coastal Water Pollution Prevention Treatment Controls, treatment controls UC San Diego has implemented to prevent coastal water pollution. 

Points of contact for credit information: