Selecting the right Best Management Practices (BMPs) are crucial for protecting and improving watersheds, but understanding the array of choices and the conditions in which different BMPs are most effective can seem overwhelming.  

This comprehensive workshop guides program managers and engineers through the criteria necessary for selection of the most effective BMPs for a project. It begins with a discussion of pollutant types and their sources, moving into an overview of pollutant removal unit processes, followed by a discussion on regulations for impaired waters, NPDES, TMDLs, and numeric nutrient criteria. The next part of the course addresses the difference between new development BMP design and retrofitting existing development for TMDL compliance. 

A detailed description of dozens of BMPs is given—from ponds, alum injection systems, and constructed wetlands, to various types of media filters, inlet devices, sand filters, hydrodynamic devices, and more. Low-impact development and green infrastructure methods and applications will be demonstrated. A section on selection criteria gives participants a list of factors for making the best choices, including not only pollutant removal effectiveness but also types of pollutants, available space, groundwater level, soil type, and maintenance costs. The workshop also includes discussions of first flush, monitoring of BMPs, and BMP removal efficiency databases. Several computer models and case studies of pollutant loading calculations for TMDL compliance and pollutant removal calculations for BMPs and treatment trains are demonstrated. An in-depth look at BMP inspections and maintenance will also be given, along with a method to track sediment removals from street sweeping and maintenance activities to achieve reductions in TMDL allocations.