Local Solutions to Local Problems: A Stormwater Education Collaborative TCS 22: The Coastal Society’s 22nd International Conference June 16, 2010, Wilmington, North Carolina Karen Fuss, Coordinator of CWSEC Center for Marine & Wetland Studies at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina

Goal Develop and implement effective, outcomes-based stormwater education and outreach programs to meet federal requirements and satisfy local environmental and economic needs.

Participating Communities These municipalities encompass over 2,000 square miles of land with approximately 300,000 residents.

Education Providers Coastal Carolina University’s Waccamaw Watershed Academy North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training and Public Education Program Clemson University’s Carolina Clear Program SC Sea Grant Extension Program Waccamaw Riverkeeper® Murrells Inlet 2020

Communication is the Key! Liaison with SCDHEC Biannual meetings Monthly E-News Website: www.cwsec-sc.org Database for MS4 reporting Annual Report Programming has changed since ’05 As the group has grown and also dynamic (new staff, etc.) – we’ve had to work very hard with communicating to all MS4 members especially when only meeting twice per year E-news monthly communication with “clients”

MCM 1: Education & Outreach THEN (‘05 –’08) Brochures Festival Booths General Presentations and Workshops

MCM 1: Education & Outreach NOW (‘09 – Present) Topic-Specific Workshops – Stormwater on Wheels LID tour Living wall at resort; pervious concrete parking lot and pavers Floating wetlands Infiltration & underground storage on beachfront road in campground

MCM 1: Education & Outreach NOW (‘09 – Present) Audience-Specific Workshops – Property Managers, K-12 and University Students

MCM 1: Education & Outreach NOW (‘09 – Present) Mass Outreach & Education – TV, Radio, Billboard, Website and Database

MCM 2: Public Involvement & Participation THEN (‘05 –’08) Began Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Support Citizen Advisory Boards Limited Community Clean-Ups

MCM 2: Public Involvement & Participation NOW (‘09 – Present) Storm Drain Marking

MCM 2: Public Involvement & Participation NOW (‘09 – Present) Rain Garden Installations Partnership between CWSC, local stormwater depts., schools & Wal-Mart 9 gardens at regional schools from funds from Wal-Mart bog garden (community-driven

MCM 2: Public Involvement & Participation NOW (‘09 – Present) Expanded Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Murrells Inlet, Surfside Beach and NC serving data online

MCM 2: Public Involvement & Participation NOW (‘09 – Present) More Comprehensive Community Clean-ups Data collection A lot more participation even city staff

Needs Assessment RESULTS Conducted to guide the planning of future stormwater educational activities offered by the core education providers during the second 5-year NPDES Phase II permit cycle. RESULTS MCM 1 MCM 2 Priority Target Audience Public, Elected & Appointed Officials, and General Staff Public, Elected & Appointed Officials, and K-12 & Higher Ed Priority Activities TV, Lecture/Presentation, and Radio Community Clean-Up, Demo/Installations, and Storm Drain Marking Suggested Activities Hands-on Demos, Video Recording, Follow-up & Maintenance on BMPs More Training, Elected Officials Tour, Maintenance of BMPs

Conclusions Diversified partnerships and tailored activities to meet specific needs of MS4 communities Education providers embedded within communities leads to level of trust with MS4s Considered technical resource for MS4s Tracking and adapting to changing requirements from state and federal guidelines for Phase II communities Forum for exchange among MS4s

Contact Info Karen Fuss, CWSEC Coordinator Waccamaw Watershed Academy Center for Marine & Wetland Studies Coastal Carolina University kfuss@coastal.edu 843-349-4058 Website at www.cwsec-sc.org