The document provides an agenda and information for a stormwater workshop on managing runoff on challenging sites. The workshop will include an overview, presentations on watersheds and pollution sources, an explanation of clean water practices, field site visits, classroom design work, and a clean water pledge. Attendees are encouraged to implement practices discussed and help others. The document discusses common stormwater pollutants and provides tips homeowners can take to help reduce pollution such as using fewer chemicals, planting trees and meadows, cleaning up pet waste, and installing rain gardens or disconnecting downspouts. Challenging sites with wet or steep conditions can also implement practices to reduce runoff.

1. Pre-workshop evaluation:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X79WV9P

2. Stormwater Challenge Workshop:
Clean Water Practices for Challenging Sites
Presented by Maria Cahill and Jamie Stamberger
For WMSWCD and SWNI/SWWRC

3. Agenda
• 9:00 – 9:20 – Overview, workshop vision
• 9:20 – 9:50 – Watersheds, pollution sources,
reducing your impact
• 9:50 – 10:20 – Managing runoff on challenging sites:
overview of practices
• 10:20 – 1:20 – Field site visits and activities
• 1:20 – 2:40 – In-classroom design work in teams
• 2:40 – 3:00 – Clean Water Volunteers, evaluations,
next steps

4. Be a Clean Water Hero!
Take the Clean Water Pledge before you leave today!
Pledge your choice of the following within 6 months:
• Implement a clean water practice from the workshop at home
• Help a fellow classmate install a practice at their home
• Take the follow-up survey sent by email 6 months after the
workshop
Workshop mission: increase the use of clean water
practices by building confidence through hands-on
projects and creating a corps of volunteers to help
each other build.

5. This class is a series! Collect all 4!
Hands-on installation workshops with your
friends at their homes:
Attending more classes will give you
more confidence and more friends!
•Sat. April 5: 9am to 3pm
•Sat. April 19: 9am to 3pm
•Sat. May 3: 9am to 3pm
*Register with Jen!

6. What is a watershed?
all the streams, lakes
and wetlands that
rain drains to in an
area

8. • Rain runs off quickly, not
able to soak into the
ground
• Rain washes over yards and
streets, picking up non-
point source pollution.
• Rain is piped directly to
streams, or the wastewater
treatment plant
In an urban watershed:

9. • Fertilizers and pesticides
• Animal waste (bacteria)
• Soap, oil, other car fluids
• Household hazardous
wastes (oil, antifreeze,
paint, etc)
• Soil (sediment)
• Volume (from rooftops, streets, etc. =
impervious surfaces)
• Metals (copper, zinc) – harmful to salmon
Common stormwater pollutants

10. forested creek urban creek
Too much volume, too fast

11. EVERYONE can do something to help!
• Reduce sources of pollution
at home
• Capture and soak in runoff
from impervious surfaces
• Plant a tree
• Share what you know

12. • Reduce lawn size
• Use slow-release, organic or
natural products, or no
products!
• Avoid combined fertilizer and
pesticide like “weed and feed”
• Landscape with native plants
and low maintenance plants
1. Avoid or use fewer fertilizers and
pesticides

13. Reduce your need for pesticides
• Accept some imperfection
• Plants can tolerate up to 50% defoliation
• Garden using IPM (Metro booklet)
• Identify – metromastergardeners.org, 503–445–4608
• Manual control, biological, chemical as last resort
• Native and disease-resistant plants
• Right plant, right place
• Take an EMSWCD naturescaping class, emswcd.org

14. Meadowscaping
• Replacing lawn or flower beds with native
meadow mix, mostly forbs and grasses
• WMSWCD Urban Meadowscaping Program
(Mary@wmswcd.org), Backyard Habitat Certification Program is
a partner – audubonportland.org
• Planted often using plugs and seeds
• One WMSWCD/BYHCP approved mix
• Hobbs and Hopkins, Sunmark Seeds others

15. Photo by USDAgov

17. Finding native plants
• Metro Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards
• List of local suppliers/sales at emswcd.org
• Join the Backyard Habitat Certification Program
(email Nikkie West: nwest@audubonportland.org)
• Join the WMSWCD Urban Meadowscaping
Program (email: Mary Logalbo at mary@wmswcd.org)
• Take an EMSWCD Naturescaping class
(emswcd.org)

18. • Scoop the poop! Pick up after your pets.
• Use bag boxes installed in parks
• Do not feed wildlife
2. Reduce bacteria entering streams

19. • Wash cars at a car wash
• Sweep driveway instead of
washing
• Fix oil and gas leaks
• Clean up spills with kitty
litter and put in garbage
3. Reduce car pollutants in streams

20. 4. Reduce illegal dumping
• Volunteer to mark storm drains
with Surfrider Foundation
volunteercoordinator@portland.su
rfrider.org
• Bring left over household
hazardous waste to a Metro
collection event or Swan Island
station.
• Paint
• Cleaning chemicals
• Pesticides

21. 5. Plant a tree!
• Long-lived, large trees
soak up a LOT of
stormwater runoff
• Trees need sufficient
space to grow (Maria will
will touch on this more
in her presentation)
• Preserve trees on your property whenever possible

22. Rain Gardens Downspout Disconnection
5. Soak up runoff at home, if safe
• Reduce volume of runoff heading to local streams
• Reduce lawn chemicals and bacteria in runoff

23. Challenging sites!
Wet soils, steep slopes and high ground water on
your property?
Good news!
There are also practices that can be applied to
these conditions to reduce runoff safely…