Gotswppp?

Our “Got SWPPP’s?” continue to grow in popularity. We are receiving very positive feedback on those who attend and/or participate in our workshops. Many have commented on the refreshing and honest approach WGR Southwest presents during the entire two day event. Not only are the attendees excited about learning and interacting with those in attendance but our vendors are encouraged to talk with those who are used to working in the field and understand the importance of the products on display.

Our Modesto workshop was unlike any other. We held our training this time at the Harvest Hall Agriculture Center in Modesto, CA. We had 50 attendees the first day and 37 the second day. Attendee’s included members from Stanislaus County, City of Modesto, SJ County, City of Riverbank, City of Ceres, and several local engineering and construction firms. Our training has been recognized by the State of California and John announced on Day 2 that the State had accepted us as a qualified trainer for the New Construction General Permit. We had some new vendors included at this workshop. Our very own Steve Teravskis, of WGR displayed several items with the BMPOutlet.com set up. Andrew Teravskis was on hand to present his most recent project “The Lodi Film Group.” Also, new to the Got SWPPP? workshop was Shelly Hurley of Argus-Hazco. Fred Inabnit and Mike Wolf of JL Analytical were first time displayers as well. Everyone pitched in and brought the best of WGR to the training room on both days.

2 Day Got SWPPP? Held May 18th & 19th

WGR facilitated its second two day GOT SWPPP? at the Manteca Senior Citizen Center located at 295 Cherry Lane, Manteca, CA.  Many thanks go out to Mr. John Boore, the Facility Coordinator at the Senior Center, as well as, the Cities of Manteca, Lathrop, Ripon, and Tracy.  We felt very welcomed and enjoyed the opportunity to interact with some of those “more” curious seniors who happened into our workshop.   

DAY ONE opened with a continental breakfast and a warm welcomefrom Kooshun Kim, Civil Engineer from the City of Manteca, followed by Ryan Bouley, Civil Engineer for the City of Lathrop, and Stephanie Reyna-Hiestand, Water Resources Coordinator for the City of Tracy.  Approximately, thirty four individuals from several engineering firms, a landscaping company, and some home builders attended DAY ONE with the training being centered on the New Construction General Permit.  Training consisted of reviewing the SMART system, learning how to calibrate pH and turbidity meters, discussion of a project scenario, and instruction on the requirements and the implementation of BMPs. 

We took a break for lunch and attendee’s enjoyed a wonderful Tri-Tip sandwich, pasta or potato salad, and brownies catered by Fangundes Meat Market, Manteca, CA. 

Our participating vendors included, California Waste Recovery Systems / Representative -Colleen Murduck, Clear Water Compliance Systems / Representative -Tyler Adair, The Water Decontaminator / Owner John Paoluccio, California Paving Fabrics, Inc. / Representative-Aubrey Santillan, AEI-CASC and WGR Southwest, Inc.

DAY TWO started again with a continental breakfast and a welcome back from WGR’s John Teravskis, Operations Manager for the Lodi, CA office.  John facilitated Day 2 and covered a variety of topics in relation to the New Construction General Permit coming into effect on July 1^st and Development Standards Plans.

DAY 2’s instruction was received from Chris Strong, P.G. of WGR Southwest, Inc.  Chris presented information on Low Impact Development, Hydromodification, and Storm Water Design Measures.  A project sceniro was discussed and hands-on work completed by all participants.  Chris also shared information on the new State Water Efficiency Ordenance (MWELO) as well as the landscape maintenance practices that will be essential for successful and complient projects.

Lunch was again served by Fangundes Meat Market, Manteca,CA .  A sincere “thank you” goes out to the team at Fangundes for providing another great meal.

Also, a demonstration on site was given by John Paoluccio of The Water Decontaminator.  John provided a clear and precise installment of an actual catch basin insert at the Manteca Senior Center.  The Water Decontaminator is engineered and patented for the treatment of stormwater run off to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements.  Mr. Paoluccio donated the unit which is a patented, environmental product that is placed under a catch basin grate to help remove oil and containimants from dirty water.  Oil and contaminants are captured in a disposable cartridge.  The absorber cartridge uses recycled waste products, essentially fighting pollution with pollution.

Thank you to all the participants who invested their time and to our Municipalities that sponsored the event.  WGR Southwest, Inc. will be holding our next GOT SWPPP? on Wednesday, June 16^th and Thursday June 17^th at the Ag Center / Harvest Hall located at 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, CA  95358.  You may learn more and register at www.gotswppp.com.

Andrew Jensen of the CVRWQCB presents on the Top 10 Storm Water Violations.

Got SWPPP Redding a Success!

The Redding Got SWPPP event held yesterday on November 18 was a complete success with approximately 60 persons in attendance.  There was a good representation from contractors, developers, engineers/consultants, and municipal staff.  Andrew Jensen of the Central Valley RWQCB was very excited about the program and the turn out for the event.  He told us that he was very impressed with the event and said that the summary of the New Construction General Permit was excellent.  Martha Vuist, the NPDES Coordinator with the City of Redding said that she was very grateful for the got SWPPP program because not only did it provide her with valuable outreach, but it also allowed her to network with the various City departments and to build some momentum for her MS4 program.  Attendees enjoyed the various workshop sessions and, as WGR’s Bret Smith noted, there appeared to be more interaction at this event than in past events.  The got SWPPP partners / storm water vendors all said that WGR’s got SWPPP program is a great opportunity for them to market their services / products and told us that they were able to make some good contacts at this event.

This brings us to the end of our 2009 got SWPPP season, we will now turn our focus to the 2010 program.  We are planning to have 8 events in 2010 and will soon be posting an event booking page on our gotswppp.com website.  We have already received interest from the following municipalities for hosting 2010 events:  City of Stockton, Port of Stockton, San Joaquin County, City of Lodi, City of Vacaville, City of Napa, City of Redding, Stanislaus County, and Marin County.  We are also trying to establish contact with the Irvine Company to partner with them for a got SWPPP program in Southern California.  We are excited about some ideas to improve and change the got SWPPP program for 2010 including having a far more hands on and interactive approach to learning about the new Construction General Permit and Storm Water Development Standards.  More information will be coming out soon.