Unit Review

Section 1: Source Control

In this section, you covered:

How and why to practice low impact development:
Low impact development maximizes a site’s natural features, such as vegetation, and minimizes the need for expensive stormwater control devices. It is a cornerstone of stormwater management with goal of mimicking a site’s predevelopment hydrology (e.g., water quality and quantity) by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source.

The benefits of planting and maintaining vegetated areas:
Vegetation planted as a buffer along the water’s edge filters stormwater runoff and removes contaminants and soil particles before they reach surface waters. The vegetation slows runoff carrying sediments, chemicals and nutrients. This causes the particles to settle out before reaching the surface water. In some cases, nutrients or chemicals in the runoff may be taken up by the vegetation, rather than going into the nearby body of water.

Impervious areas:
The fewer impervious areas there are on site, the less runoff you will have to manage. Keep impervious areas to a minimum through paving only when necessary, strategic planning and considering alternatives.

Capturing and reusing roof water:
Install a rain water capture system to gather and store runoff from rooftops. This reduces your overall volume of runoff and allows for an alternate water source.

Minimizing pollution in runoff:
Cover and block off work and storage areas to avoid contact with rainfall. Sources of polluted runoff at marinas and boatyards include:

  • Material, equipment or boat storage
  • Sanding or scraping
  • Painting
  • Engine maintenance
  • Pressure washing
  • Fuelling
  • Waste handling
  • Vehicle parking

Controling sediment from construction sites:
Use devices such as straw bales, silt fences, storm drain filters, sediment traps, and earth dikes to prevent sediments from leaving construction areas.

Stenciling storm drains:
Stencil or label storm drains with the words “Don’t Dump—Drains to Lake (River)” and “No Fish Waste” (if appropriate). Stencils and instructions are available from local watershed groups and councils.

Section 2: Stormwater Treatment

In this section, you covered:

Site analysis to inform BMP selection:
Since every site is different and the practices adopted should be specific to your situation — and in order to select which BMPs are right for your marina, you should use an existing or conduct a new site analysis.

Using structural controls as necessary:
Stormwater treatment BMPs are structural devices used to manage and treat runoff contaminated with pollutants. Types of stormwater treatment BMPs that may work at marinas include different types of:

  • Ponds
  • Bioretention, Constructed Wetlands and Swales
  • Infiltration and Filter Systems