The City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program has six primary areas of responsibility to help improve the City's water quality.

Investigations & Enforcement

The program conducts investigations of illegal pollutant discharges by residents, businesses and public agencies into the City's storm water conveyance system. This includes responding to reports that come in via: the Storm Water Pollution Hotline, the regional reporting hotline, and from activities observed by staff while patrolling their assigned area. The program also prepares cases for Civil Penalty hearings before an administrative law judge.

Public Education & Training Section

The program creates and conducts storm water pollution prevention public education and outreach to more than 1.2 million residents, 70,000 businesses, and government agencies operating in the City limits. The program also educates and trains City staff on the City's storm drain collection system, the pollutants that cause beach closures and the behaviors they can adopt at work and at home to improve the water quality of San Diego's beaches, bays and watersheds.

Watershed Coordination

The program works to improve San Diego's watersheds and eco-systems, by changing the way development is conceived, designed and permitted in the City of San Diego. The program leads a citywide effort to retool and reconfigure existing policies, procedures and development permits to incorporate pro-active storm water pollution prevention strategies.

Receiving Water Monitoring

The program samples, monitors and records the health of recreational waters throughout the City of San Diego. The data accumulated will assist the City in setting priorities, determining appropriate remedies and identifying education.

Engineering Best Management Practices Development

The program develops citywide standards for on-site storm water pollution prevention practices and activities at public and private construction sites. It also works with the construction and development industry to share information on "Best Management Practices" and engineering design strategies that will reduce and prevent sediment, erosion and other construction discharges from entering the City's storm drain collection system.

Administrative Support

This section is responsible for tracking and recording program achievements in all areas; overseeing the financial management functions for the division; producing the Annual Regional Water Quality Control Board Report; and providing customer service by answering the City's Storm Water Hotline (235-1000) for discharges within the City of San Diego and providing information to the public on a variety of storm water topics.