Stormwater Policy and Practices

In any project that aims to change behavior, it is important to recognize the benefits of both voluntary and mandatory action. Our statewide message sought to inform Rhode Islanders about the scary nature of stormwater, in an irreverent and humorous way, and provide them with a collection of simple steps that could prevent or mitigate nonpoint source pollution. However, we recognize that knowledge is just one step toward behavior change. Some communication theorists have argued that sometimes one has to change behavior first and the corresponding knowledge and beliefs will change with it.

To assist them in the most useful way possible, we switched our strategy over the course of the project. While we began by offering materials and strategies to the stormwater coordinators, we concluded by often acting on their behalf to publish cartoons and articles.

Helping MS4s Reach Residents

We created a comprehensive manual, Reaching Out To Residents, of public outreach and involvement strategies and materials for MS4s to use, including factsheets, articles, cartoons, step-by-step plans for the topics of pet waste, storm drain marking, yard care, and business good housekeeping, educator resources, and mass media resources. We also completed seven customized outreach strategies for interested municipalities.

We created a customizable, self-inspection checklist for businesses to assist with Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) compliance.

We worked with North Kingstown to begin a neighborhood Low Impact Development (LID) retrofit project.

We assisted five MS4s with storm drain marking events, involving more than 170 participants and marking a total of 834 drains in South Kingstown, Narragansett, Westerly, Tiverton, and University of Rhode Island.

We installed demonstration rain gardens at Roger Williams Park and the Louttit Library in West Greenwich during our 2011 and 2012 RI Residential Rain Garden Training, and we assisted with the completion of a rain garden in the Manton Heights Housing Development in Providence. And we created a Rain Garden Design Guide for homeowners to encourage voluntary use of this LID technique, as well as LID factsheets for developers and businesses.

Today we continue to offer assistance to stormwater coordinators planning or implementing outreach programs in their communities, including assistance with planning a community rain garden. All of the educational materials developed for MS4s, including step-by step guides to storm drain marking, pet waste station installation, and yard care, are available on our website for use by municipalities, non-profit organizations, educators, and anyone interested in stormwater outreach and education