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The San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (Flows To Bay) focuses on compliance under the Municipal Regional Permit issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. This permit entitles the cities and County of San Mateo to allow discharges of stormwater to enter the bay and the ocean. These discharges are regulated to minimize pollution. To comply with the standards of discharge set forth by the permit, the program has several subcommittees, staffed by member agencies of all the cities and the County, to oversee particular areas of pollution prevention as they relate to specific on-land activities. These committees meet regularly and meetings are open to the public. 

For additional information about each subcommittee, or to request meeting dates, agendas, and meeting materials, please contact Reid Bogert at rbogert@smcgov.org or 650-599-1433. Summaries of each subcommittee are provided below.

The subcommittees are as follows:

Commercial, Industrial, and Illicit Discharge

Goals of committee: To effectively prohibit illicit, non-stormwater discharges to the municipal storm drain system, and to control the discharge of pollutants in stormwater from commercial and industrial businesses to the maximum extent practicable.

Meets: The first Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30pm at the offices of San Mateo County Environmental Health, 2000 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Suite 100, San Mateo.

Municipal Maintenance

Goals of committee: To maximize the removal of pollutants while sweeping streets, cleaning storm drain inlets, and conducting other routine maintenance activities; and to minimize non-stormwater discharges to storm drains and water courses from maintenance related activities.

Meets: Biannually on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 12 to 1pm at the Belmont Sports Complex, 550 Island Pkwy, Belmont.

New Development/ Green Infrastructure

Goals of committee: To minimize the adverse impact on water quality and beneficial uses of land development, both before and after construction. This committee also addresses the implementation of green infrastructure/Low Impact Development on public and private projects.

Meets: Typically on the second Tuesday of every month from 1:30 to 3:30pm at the Redwood Shores Library, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City.

Parks/IPM

Goals of committee: To maximize the application of Integrated Pest Management in the course of Municipal park maintenance.

Meets: Typically meets biannually on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 1:30 to 3pm, locations vary.

Public Information and Participation

Goals of committee: To educate the public about the causes of stormwater pollution and its serious effects on the quality of local creeks, lagoons, shorelines, and neighborhoods. To encourage residents to adopt less polluting and more environmentally beneficial practices and to increase residents’ hands-on involvement in program activities.

Meets: Typically biannually from 11am to noon at San Mateo City Hall, 330 W 20th Avenue, San Mateo.

Stormwater

Goals of committee: To support the Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program with policy and stormwater management-related decisions in compliance with the Municipal Regional Permit. The committee is comprised of director-level appointees from each of C/CAG’s member agencies and one non-voting member of the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Meets: Typically bimonthly on the third Thursday of the month from 2:30 to 4pm at the San Mateo County Transit District Office, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, 2nd Floor Auditorium, San Carlos.

Trash Control

Goals of committee: To provide guidance on complying with the Municipal Regional Permit requirements on trash load reductions via source controls, treatment controls, and maintenance activities. This subcommittee also coordinates cleanup activities along creeks and shorelines and documents load reductions via the various control measures implemented in local jurisdictions. A sub-group (the Litter Workgroup) formed out of this subcommittee to address trash and litter issues related to municipal waste hauler activities and transportation related litter issues pertaining to state highways in the county.

Meets: Quarterly on the first Thursday of the month from 10am to noon at San Mateo City Hall, 330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo.

Watershed Assessment and Monitoring

Goals of committee: Characterize creek function, health, and water quality conditions in representative watersheds in San Mateo County and evaluate potential stormwater runoff impacts. Develop plans to address specific pollutants of concern (POC) associated with stormwater runoff such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and perform related special studies. Evaluate long-term trends in water quality and thereby inform the Program’s efforts to improve the effectiveness of its Best Management Practices (BMPs) to prevent or reduce stormwater runoff impacts.

Meets: Typically on the second Thursday of the month, approximately once per year from 10am to noon at the offices of San Mateo County Environmental Health, 2000 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Suite 100, San Mateo.