Amulti-track course curriculum; one- and two-day, pre-conference workshops; certification review courses and exams; and more than 175 exhibits by stormwater products and services providers make StormCon an effective venue for civil engineers to learn and see the latest technology for stormwater management. Claimed to be the world’s largest stormwater conference and exhibition, StormCon runs five days, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, through Thursday, Aug. 20, in Anaheim, Calif.

The first two days offer the following pre-conference workshops:
The Art and Science of Stormwater Retrofitting to Restore Ecosystems and Create Community Spaces — This workshop will present a variety of resources for restoring urban and suburban watersheds, highlighting the Center for Watershed Protection’s Urban Stormwater Retrofit Practices manual. The workshop will also address “regenerative stormwater design” concepts for restoring ecosystem functions to dry detention basins, degraded outfalls, stormwater conveyance channels, and impacted streams.

AquaShield’s (Booths 824 and 826) Aqua-Swirl hydrodynamic vortex separators are designed to remove coarse sediment and floatable debris. PondPack V8i from Bentley (Booth 208) sizes ponds, develops outlet rating curves with tailwater effects, accounts for pond infiltration, calculates pond detention times, analyzes channels, performs interconnected pond routing computations, and handles divergent (multiple) outfalls. New features include scenario management; MicroStation-, PowerCivil-, and AutoCAD-integration; an improved PondMaker tool; and modeling of underground detention chamber systems.

How to Write and Maintain a Compliant Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (two-day workshop) — This beginning- to intermediate-level course provides information on how to put together a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) that is in compliance with the Construction General Permit and is a workable plan for a general contractor. The workshop provides a step-by-step approach to the SWPPP contents, and also discusses design dos and don’ts and proper placement of best management practices (BMPs).

Best Management Products, Inc.’s (Booth 813) SNOUT with stainless steel TrashScreen can help with full trash capture requirements. See the TrashScreen and SNOUT at StormCon or visit www.bmpinc.com to view the company’s products; download CAD drawings, design information, and literature; and check pricing. Economically collect, detain, retain, and infiltrate stormwater runoff onsite with the ChamberMaxx system, the latest addition to the CONTECH suite of detention and recharge solutions. Visit CONTECH at StormCon (Booth 511) to view a full-size chamber and to learn more about the company’s portfolio of treatment, detention, and low-impact development solutions. StormTrap (Booths 821 and 218) offers a modular design that allows the system to be completely customizable, giving it the ability to fit all types of job site parameters. The system’s design maximizes the total volume of stormwater stored while minimizing the project’s footprint and overall cost. With a claim as the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic pipe, JM Eagle (Booth 735) features the dual-wall Eagle Corr PE pipe. Eagle Corr PE is watertight, easier and safer to handle, and more resistant to abrasion and corrosion than iron or concrete pipe, the company says, and is better engineered for long-term dependability.

Low-Impact Development: Introduction, Applications, and Technical Implementation (two-day workshop) — This workshop introduces the economic benefits, ecological goals, planning techniques, design principles, analytical methodologies, and implementation strategies and monitoring results of low-impact development (LID) techniques for urban stormwater management. Attendees can expect to gain a thorough technical understanding of how to apply integrated LID management practices to meet local watershed protection and water resources restoration protection goals and regulatory requirements.

EPA Workshop on Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure — This workshop, intended primarily for municipal governments with wet weather management responsibilities such as stormwater, combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and nonpoint source runoff, will focus on how these programs can be effectively managed using green infrastructure technologies and approaches. The workshop will discuss EPA’s green infrastructure program, how the green infrastructure program relates to other regulatory programs, and the benefits of green infrastructure practices.

Modular Wetlands’ (Booth 711) Stormwater Treatment System was used in a retrofit street widening project for the city of Huntington Beach, Calif. Installed in conjunction with the existing catch basin, the system incorporated various California native plants. StormChamber (Booth 829) offers an open-bottom, HDPE infiltration chamber that functions in both permeable and non-permeable soils for subsurface retention, detention, recharge, and reuse of stormwater. It provides a higher level of nutrient and pollutant removal by taking advantage of the natural biological and physical properties of the soil. The SedimenTrap component of the StormChamber system eliminates the need for pre-treatment devices.

Practical Stormwater Treatment from A-Z: Special Training Opportunity for Stormwater Managers and Consultants — This workshop guides program managers and engineers through the criteria necessary to select BMPs appropriately and includes discussion of the types of pollutants and their sources and an overview of the pollutant removal unit processes. Additionally, the workshop provides detailed description of 33 BMPs, including ponds, alum injection systems, constructed wetlands, media filters, inlet devices, sand filters, and hydrodynamic devices.

Advanced Post-Construction Stormwater Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair — This workshop will cover maintaining post-construction stormwater management facilities, inspection protocol, maintenance requirements of infrastructure, and various BMPs. Repair issues and implementing a multi-site inspection and maintenance program will also be covered.

In addition, day-long pre-conference review courses are offered for Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality (CPSWQ), Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC), and Certified Inspector of Sediment and Erosion Control (CISEC). Exams for all three certifications are available to attendees on Monday, Aug. 17.

The FILTERPAVE system from Presto Products-Geosystems (Booth 402) is a new, hard-surfaced porous pavement with benefits and features that the company says surpass standards for pavements of its kind. The eco-friendly pavement utilizes 100-percent post-consumer recycled glass in the mix, offers a highly aesthetic and highly porous surface, and provides environmental benefits including contributing to green building LEED credits.

Conference opening
The conference officially begins Tuesday morning, Aug. 18, with a general session, educational courses, and the exhibit hall opening. The keynote address will be given by Terry Tamminen, who boasts a long list of environmental accomplishments: founder of Santa Monica BayKeeper and cofounder of the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law; former executive director of the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.; former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; and former cabinet secretary and chief policy advisor to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Tamminen currently lectures and provides private consulting services on climate and energy policy to a variety of clients, including several governors and Canadian premiers.

StormCon organizers scheduled 122 courses, Tuesday morning, Aug. 18 through Thursday morning, Aug. 20. The courses are organized into the following six tracks, which run concurrently:

• BMP case studies — Examples of structural and nonstructural BMPs to achieve water-quality goals (27 courses scheduled);
• Low-impact development — Infiltration, bioretention, and other techniques to maintain or mimic predevelopment hydrology (24 courses scheduled);
• Stormwater program management — Regulatory compliance, funding, public education and outreach, and integrating TMDLs with the NPDES program (25 courses scheduled);
• Water-quality monitoring — Monitoring and sampling techniques, modeling practices, and watershed assessments (20 courses scheduled);
• Advanced research topics — Comparing BMP performance, evaluating testing protocols, and trends in stormwater research (16 courses scheduled); and
• Source control — Source identification and source control methods (10 courses scheduled).

Also scheduled during the conference are two “Interactive Specialty Panels.” The first — BMPs, LID & the Highway Environment (Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 10:00 a.m.) — will address changes shaping BMPs. During the second panel — Talk Back to the EPA: Q&A Session (Thursday, Aug. 20, at 8:30 a.m.) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives will provide an update on new developments in the EPA’s stormwater programs and answer questions.

Complete workshop, course, and panel descriptions are contained in the StormCon conference program, which can downloaded at www.stormcon.com Online registration is also available on the website.