A Future For Stormwater Management

In Puget Sound 

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR MUNICIPAL STORMWATER PERMITHOLDERS IN PUGET SOUND. EACH PERMITHOLDER IS LIMITED TO 5 REGISTRATIONS. A waiting list is open for non-municipal permitholder attendees so please email Laurie Larson at laurie.larson-pugh@wsu.edu.

Learning the intersections between stormwater, salmon recovery, and urban growth at a participatory workshop highlighting applicable tools. Engage with your peers to resolve tough environmental issues. Build partnerships with your departments, other jurisdictions and decision makers. The forum will be offered at the Washington Stormwater Center on the WSU Puyallup Campus. Registration will be limited to 100 participants.

A Future for Stormwater Management in Puget Sound is a pilot project funded through the Bullitt Foundation as part of their commitment to transform the “Emerald Corridor” into a global model of urban sustainability. The Washington Stormwater Center (WSC), along with its regional advisory team of agencies, jurisdictions and practitioners, is presenting a targeted workshop winter forum on the complex challenge of meeting growth management and stormwater goals while restoring salmon habitat. The purpose of this forum is to work through discussions, charrettes and resources addressing urban problems and three root causes: increases in toxic and eroding stormwater runoff, urban sprawl encroaching on healthy natural spaces, and the decline of healthy salmon populations. The forum structure will blend expert speakers and implementers with resource discussions and table exercises. The forum is designed for interdepartmental teams from local jurisdictions, led by their stormwater managers. Team members can include colleagues in planning, city council, engineering, economic development, transportation, urban outreach, tribal liaisons and others involved in stormwater management. The forum goal is to convene and educate all who can work together on using the trainings, tools and dialogue from the forum. A new section of the WSC website entitled “Stormwater U” showcases strategies that guide this effort, resources, and relevant materials to prep for this Winter Forum. These resources, videos, webinars, case studies, and more are available on the WSC Stormwater U webpage. 

Background: The Washington Stormwater Center is conducting a Winter Forum for teams of jurisdictions from Puget Sound. The credit for the foundation of this Winter Forum lies with a small and innovative group of state agencies, cities, environmental organizations and other interested professionals working over the past three years to produce new thinking and approaches for creating a new model for urban sustainability. Spearheaded by the Washington Department of Commerce and the South Central Local Integrating Organization, and working with Ecology and the City of Redmond, two guidance documents (Building Cities in the Rain; Stormwater Control Transfer Program) and a constantly developing Puget Sound Watershed Characterization Project were created. These guiding documents and tools highlight an emergent pathway toward creating resilient cities of the future. Speakers at the Winter Forum will include representatives from local agencies and jurisdictions which have created and utilized tools that are paving the way toward the vision of resilient cities, and will walk Forum attendees through discussions and activities that illuminate ways to approach the intersectionality of stormwater. 

 For general questions, please contact Laurie Larson at the WSC. laurie.larson-pugh@wsu.edu