Surface Water Quality, Fish Kills, Stormwater, and NPDES
Provided below is a summary of the Surface Water Quality Monitoring Program, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Ordinance, fish kill information and an overview of the County's role under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. ERM coordinates compliance for the County's NPDES permit.
Surface Water Quality
ERM monitors the water quality throughout Palm Beach County. Presently, there
is more than 20 years of data. The sites are located within estuaries, lakes
and canals containing both fresh and salt water: Surface
Water Quality Monitoring Sites Map (7/09) 
.
Subsequent water quality data is entered into the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP) STORET [External
Link] and to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and is
used in the biannual assessment of water quality conditions throughout Florida.
In January 2006, ERM staff initiated the Chain-of-Lakes Water Quality Monitoring
Program. The Chain-of-Lakes include Pine Lake, Lake Clarke, Lake Osborne, Lake
Ida, and Lake Eden. Water quality data from this program was used to develop
the Chain-of-Lakes Water Quality Report 2006-2008 .
Palm Beach County NPDES Permit
Making Local Government Responsible for Discharges to "Waters of the U.S." In 1987, the United States Congress reauthorized the Clean Water Act, which included provisions requiring counties and municipalities with populations greater than 100,000 to assume responsibility for discharges to "Waters of the U.S." from municipal separate storm sewers. In 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the new stormwater regulations and placed the regulatory program under the existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Palm Beach County municipalities and several special districts within the county, acting as a group and led by a Steering Committee, were issued an NPDES stormwater permit on February 1, 1997. The group maintains the following website for sharing information: Palm Beach County NPDES Program. The NPDES stormwater regulations require that the local governments that are issued NPDES stormwater permits reduce to the maximum extent possible the discharge of pollutants both into and from municipal separate storm sewers to "Waters of the U.S." This is accomplished through the implementation of an approved stormwater management plan, which addresses the various aspects of how pollutants reach municipal storm sewers. The Stormwater Management Plan includes the following individual program components: maintenance of stormwater structural control; stormwater treatment projects; roadway maintenance activities; flood control projects; municipal solid waste facilities; pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer application; illicit connections and discharges; high risk industrial facilities; and construction activities. In addition to these individual program components, there are two types of monitoring activities: dry weather field screening and water quality monitoring. The dry weather field screening is conducted in the storm sewer system during the absence of rainfall, to determine if there are illicit discharges. The water quality monitoring is conducted within the receiving water bodies over time to determine the effectiveness of the Stormwater Management Plan. Other important aspects of the NPDES Program include regulatory prohibition of stormwater discharges to the stormwater system and the public education efforts that are part of several individual program components.
Coastal Resources
