The Role of Public Education and Public Participation in the Urban Stormwater Program
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Transcript of The Role of Public Education and Public Participation in the Urban Stormwater Program
The Role of Public Education and Public Participation
in the Urban StormwaterProgram
The 6 Mandatory ManagementMeasures
• Public Education/Outreach• Public Participation/ Involvement• Illicit Discharge Identification and Elimination• Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping in
Municipal Areas• Construction Stormwater Management• Post-Construction Stormwater Management
Each of these Management Measures Requires Plans and Actions
• Four of these Management Measures are technical in nature
• They need technical staff to run them• To fulfill the objectives of the program they
need to know what is happening in the field• This requires input from staff and the public• Public input: COMPLAINTS are needed
People will support the program if:
• They know what is about• They understand why it is important• They understand the role they play in the
program• They know what they can do to help solve the
problem• That is the role of education!
Public Participation
• Having the public fully involved will:– Multiply your manpower– Increase the funds available to accomplish the
program– Increase the value of the program to elected
officials– Produce new and innovative solutions and
activities – Makes the management job easier and harder
How Do We Do This
• Identify Audiences that need education– Youth– Home owners– Business owners– Industries – Developers and Contractors– Public employees– Outdoor groups– Farmers and Foresters
How do We Reach them
• Schools and youth programs• Master Gardeners• Home owners associations• Civic clubs• Public meetings• PSAs on radio and TV• News articles• Mail outs
Electronic Media
WEB Pages
Must be Maintained With New Material
• Web Page-New material weekly or bi-weekly• Facebook-once or twice a week at least• Twitter-Daily • Find a person who likes to be on the computer
to do this
Where do I get Stuff to put up?
• http://www.stormh2o.com/SW/SWhome.aspx• http://
www.erosioncontrol.com/EC/EChome.aspx• http://
www.waterefficiency.net/WE/WEhome.aspx• http://srwqis.tamu.edu/• http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment
/water_issues/
They Know, What Now?
• They need to be offered the opportunity to be involved enough to feel that the program is theirs.
• Hold meetings with different groups to review the Stormwater Management Plan and the Stormwater Ordinance or to aid in the development of one
• Hold activities for different groups
Activities
• Project Wet sessions at K-6 Schools• Use “Guppy in a Bag” project for this age group• Competition between schools, 4-H, Boy or Girl
Scout troops on stream bank clean ups. • Neighborhood rain garden projects or Adopt-a-
Stream projects.• Establish “Hotline” for Public call in of violations
Management
• Set objectives and goals for education and involvement
• Set numeric goals to measure progress• Do follow-up surveys on knowledge and
progress• Follow up on staff progress• Expect disappointments
• People don’t do what you expect!• They do what you inspect!
• Expect Surprises!
Constant Attention to Detail