Government Affairs and Technical Specialists
CICWQ works in Southern California and Sacramento to advocate for balanced and reasonable water quality regulation for the construction industry and a broad-based water supply and reliability portfolio
Our Advocacy
The rights of property owners, builders, developers and contractors have been threatened by non-scientifically based water quality regulations which are being proposed and implemented at an alarming rate. These regulations, if left unchecked, will potentially cost the industry tens of millions of dollars each year. CICWQ’s advocacy role combines research and education, providing factual and straightforward scientific and engineering information to the public, local government, and regulatory bodies, upon which sound public works project development and funding decisions can be made.
One of the principal functions of CICWQ is to collaborate with as many different organizations and agencies as possible to promote the prudent expenditure of public funds on multi-benefit water quality improvement and water supply reliability projects. To perform collaboration effectively, CICWQ has worked hard to be fluent in all aspects of water quality policy and regulation development and to carefully evaluate and provide public comment when appropriate on proposed policies and projects which will fulfill water quality compliance requirements.
CURRENT ADVOCACY ISSUES
WHAT WE FIGHT FOR
Construction General Permit for Stormwater
The California State Water Resources Control Board adopted a revised Construction General Permit (CGP) for stormwater on September 8, 2022. CICWQ led the building and construction industry in California in analyzing the permit, developing reasonable alternatives, and communicating its positions to the State Water Board and other key stakeholders. Because of CICWQ’s efforts, the State Water Board had to accept last minute changes to the permit, scaling back dramatically proposed numeric effluent limits enforced at some job sites.
The CGP and its requirements apply to almost all construction projects. And it applies to a wide array of construction and land development activities including housing, retail and commercial development, linear utilities, and public works. In California, collectively, private and public project proponents spend millions of dollars each year complying in the spirit of protecting water quality.
CICWQ, working with its construction industry trade association partners and membership throughout California, developed extensive technical and legal comments and provided specific suggestions on improving the revised CGP, reflecting the realities of construction contractors working in California.
More and more, contractors are being required to sample and analyze and report pollutants other than sediment in job site stormwater runoff, which is creating huge cost concerns and legal liability. CICWQ led the fight to make job site compliance achievable and cost effective, and protect the industry from NOVs and citizen lawsuits.
Post-Construction Stormwater Management
Since its inception, CICWQ has championed funding, planning, design, and construction of multi-benefit urban stormwater collection and retention systems that meet MS4 permit requirements for water pollution control and reduction. In 2003, CICWQ published the first comprehensive examination of the potential for regional stormwater capture projects to meet urban runoff pollution limits in the Los Angeles area. At the time, the report was criticized by some stakeholders for its regional, watershed-scale approach, which is ironically now one of the principal means for MS4 permit compliance by the 88 cities in Los Angeles County.
CICWQ followed up its 2003 Regional Solutions report with a series of assignments to determine how best to implement low impact development stormwater best practices on regional, sub-regional, and neighborhood scales, and what the relative costs and benefits of those systems are. Work done by CICWQ for Orange County Public Works between 2010 and 2012 on the costs of Low Impact Development has been published in Stormwater Magazine in 2013 and has been the subject of numerous presentations at technical conferences in California, the United States, and the People’s Republic of China, by Dr. Mark Grey.
Starting in 2015, CICWQ continued its collaborative work with Orange County Public Works to help develop a Model Water Quality Credit Trading program for the County. CICWQ developed regional, sub-watershed scale engineering case studies and performed detailed hydraulic and engineering analyses to determine the feasibility of private properties to function as regional urban stormwater capture locations. And, CICWQ produced a comprehensive benefit-cost analysis of the two different scenarios, monetizing water quality, water supply, and environmental and community benefits.
Stormwater Funding Measures
CICWQ emphasizes assisting public works agencies to support the development of multi-benefit water quality improvement projects, including the difficult task of securing adequate funding for improvements. Our emphasis has been twofold: 1) using our technical expertise, from our staff and membership, and our extensive professional networks to directly support public works project funding on as large a scale as possible; we have worked with numerous public works agencies (County Public Works, Flood Control Districts, Caltrans) and water districts/agencies such as Metropolitan Water District) to support critically needed regional infrastructure projects—locally and in Sacramento; and 2) securing outside funding for CICWQ to help accomplish its mission, by providing specialized research and analytical capabilities which support public works partners’ goals, objectives, and mutual interests. Dr. Mark Grey has been instrumental in securing and leveraging outside funding from public and private sources for multi-disciplinary assignments and projects focused on water quality compliance, pollution reduction, and conservation of water resources.
Water Supply Development and Reliability
CICWQ maintains close ties to water districts and agencies working in southern California to provide reliable, safe, and clean drinking water. CICWQ supports many different types of regional water supply reliability projects, including emerging multi-benefit water supply improvement and water quality enhancement projects which are being developed by large public works agencies such as Los Angeles and Orange County Public Works. CICWQ is a member of the Southern California Water Coalition, a broad-based group of public and private interests seeking to ensure reliable water supplies are provided for the benefit of all Southern Californians.
CICWQ FOUNDED IN 2001 BY OUR TRADE ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
Major funding for CICWQ is provided by the Construction Industry Advancement Fund and the Fund for Construction Industry Advancement