Unmanaged stormwater can be a flood hazard and a contaminant. But when it’s properly managed, stormwater actually can benefit communities, creating green spaces and recharging aquifers. We spoke with Karen Cowan, executive director of the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA), to learn more about this underappreciated resource.

First, tell us a bit about CASQA. How should we be thinking about stormwater in California?
CASQA advances sustainable stormwater management protective of California’s water resources. We advocate for stormwater policies, regulations, legislation, and solutions that are based on the latest science. We emphasize stormwater capture—putting water in the ground. We also focus on “true” source control—keeping contaminants such as plastics and pesticides out of stormwater in the first place. For example, rather than going after one pesticide at a time, we need an approval process that considers aquatic toxicity before a pesticide is authorized for use.

We also engage with our members and other organizations to achieve common goals. In the regulatory context, water is siloed, so our job is to un-silo it and get everyone to work together. Stormwater—either practically or in a regulatory sense—touches everybody in some way, so our membership includes cities and counties, drinking water agencies, wastewater agencies, all University of California campuses, Caltrans, and even the California State Parks.

Education is core to our work. We produce resources that inform and train stormwater professionals, and we communicate to the public. I’m very excited about our new campaign—Rain Ready California—which we hope will change the way people think about stormwater. We hope that if a state or local measure funding stormwater or advancing a policy like true source control is on the ballot, people will support it.

 What are the biggest challenges and opportunities when it comes to stormwater right now?

Sustainable stormwater management is the very definition of opportunity. Stormwater capture involves putting water in the ground through smaller street greening projects or big infiltration basins, and lots of approaches in between. We want to shift how we view rain—to embrace it as a good thing, rather than see it as a toxic waste stream. The governor’s Water Supply Strategy identifies stormwater capture as one of the state’s top priorities; investment and incentives will help.

We recently worked with an economist to release a report on the socioeconomic value of stormwater. We chose case studies on stormwater capture from throughout state: small green street projects, big infiltration projects, and flood control basins like the system in Fresno. Regardless of project size, we found that the investment was returned in just the first year. The opportunity for investment is massive, and the value it can provide to communities—including health and recreation benefits—is huge.

The biggest challenge is funding. Stormwater is for the most part unfunded, and communities are mostly funding their stormwater programs out of the General Fund. That’s a really tough way to fund anything. You’re competing for funds for the police department, fire department, libraries, and social services. We need to invest more, but it takes a lot of political will.

We need local, state, and federal funding on a consistent basis—not just one-off grants. Without that, it is difficult to do long-term planning. Unlike other water sectors, stormwater doesn’t have a rate-based structure, so mechanisms that are set up for other kinds of water management—low-interest loans, state revolving funds—are not options because they can’t be repaid.

Measure W is a Los Angeles property tax on impermeable surfaces that’s intended to raise millions annually to capture and treat stormwater to increase water supply and improve water quality. How’s it going?

Measure W demonstrates what a dedicated stream of money, year over year, can do. There’s always some inertia in the system when you’re building something out of nothing—you need to make sure you’re being careful stewards of public money. But the projects on the books for Measure W are tremendous.

Measure W is by no means enough money to fund needs even within Los Angeles County, but it shows what can happen when meaningful stormwater dollars go into a community. And they can design projects that may not get funded this year but can get funded in future years because the money is a dedicated funding source. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing local funding like Measure W spill over to other places. Because of Prop 218, each community needs two-thirds of voters to approve local funding measures for stormwater. Some communities have been successful, while other local measures have not been approved by voters.

What makes you hopeful?

Public consciousness has changed in such a positive way. Drought really got people’s attention about how important it is to manage water well in California. People realize that we have to be good stewards of our water, that it’s worth investing in, and that it’s a resource—not a thing to get rid of. Work in water isn’t exactly easy, but I do it because I know it matters. We can make meaningful change—what we do now can have long-lasting impacts.