Publication Resources

links to publications go here

"After the Storm"

30-minute television program about watersheds co-produced by USEPA and The Weather Channel.

Association of California Water Agencies Fact Sheet

Fact sheet on water recycling, reuse, reclamation.

Bay-Friendly Landscaping

Bay-Friendly Landscaping is a whole systems approach to the design, construction and maintenance of the landscape in order to support the integrity of the San Francisco Bay watershed.

CASQA Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Handbooks

Handbooks reflect the current practices, standards, and significant amount of knowledge gained since the early 90s about the effectiveness of BMPs.

CA Department of Water Resources California Water Plan

The California Water Plan provides a framework for water managers, legislators, and the public to consider options and make decisions regarding California’s water future. The Plan, which is updated every five years, presents basic data and information on California’s water resources including water supply evaluations and assessments of agricultural, urban, and environmental water uses to quantify the gap between water supplies and uses. The Plan also identifies and evaluates existing and proposed statewide demand management and water supply augmentation programs and projects to address the State’s water needs.

CA Department of Water Resources, Water Data Websites

This web site provides links to data sources for water bodies in California.

CA Department of Water Resources Water Use Classifications of Landscape Species

The Water Use Classifications of Landscape Species was developed to provide guidance in selecting water friendly plants and planting materials. It also serves as a guide to assist in developing irrigation schedules for existing landscapes.

California Nonpoint Source Encyclopedia

A condensed, quick reference guide to information on nonpoint source management practices in California, for each of the six nonpoint source categories: agriculture; forestry; urban areas; marinas and recreational boating; hydromodification; and wetlands, riparian areas and vegetated treatment systems.

California 2030: An Efficient Future

Details how California can cut its wasteful use of water by 20 percent in the next 25 years while satisfying a growing population, maintaining a healthy agricultural sector, and supporting a vibrant economy.

Choices for Growth: Quality of life and the natural environment

A publication of Texas NEMO and others that discusses and displays the three strategies for a healthy environment: preserving open space, encouraging compact growth, and controlling urban stormwater runoff.

Community-Based Watershed Management Handbook

This document describes innovative approaches to watershed management implemented by National Estuary Programs that restore and protect coastal wetlands.

Design Guidelines to Enhance Community Appearance and Protect Natural Resources

Describes planning considerations, tools, and best management practices to create a more visuially appealing community.

Economic Development and Smart Growth

A report from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) looks at connections between economic development and smart growth such as job growth, occupancy rates, tax base, and private investment.

Facing Our Future: A Balanced Water Solution for Colorado

A Balanced Water Solution for Colorado presents a balanced approach for increasing the Front Range's water supply faster with less harm to the environment and much less controversy than water projects have faced in the past.

Growing Toward More Efficient Water Use: Linking Development, Infrastructure and Drinking Water Policies

USEPA publication that focuses on the relationship between development patterns, water use, and the cost of water delivery.

Growing with Green Infrastructure

One in a series of publications from the State of Pennsylvania on protecting and financing open space projects.

Guide to Using Natural Resource Information in Local Decision Making

Natural resource-based planning process to ensure that land use decisions are made in an environmentally sensitive and fiscally responsible way.

H2O House

Provides a virtual home tour of a water saving home.

Implementing a Municipal Open Space Program

One in a series of publications from the State of Pennsylvania on protecting and financing open space projects.

Integrated Water Resources Management

This study explores the ways in which multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits can be achieved through integrated management of stormwater resources at a landscape level. These benefits accrue not only to the local area, but also to the restoration of ecosystems throughout California and to broad, state-wide economic benefits.

The Lindsay Creek Project: A Watershed and Community Based Land Use Assessment

This handbook of the Redwood Community Action Agency in Humboldt County, CA introduces a process for collecting and combining available watershed and social data with the goal of improving land use decisionmaking in rural regions.

Livable Landscapes: By Chance or By Choice?

Livable Landscapes is a one-hour documentary for public television, with a viewers' discussion guide and teachning curriculum, that gives people a place to start thinking about the forces that shape communities and landscapes.

Minnesota Stormwater Manual

This manual provides resources for stormwater managers, information for newcomers to the stormwater field, and practical stormwater management practices. It is Minnesota focused.

Opportunity Knocks: Open Space is a Community Investment

One in a series of publications from the State of Pennsylvania on protecting and financing open space projects.

National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Urban Areas

This helps urban areas protect bodies of water from polluted runoff that can result from everyday activities.

Natural Resource Projects Inventory

NRPI is a comprehensive electronic database of information on thousands of conservation, mitigation and restoration projects in California.

Onsite Water Treatment

This is a bi-monthly magazine for water treatment professionals.

Our Built and Natural Environments

This US EPA publication summarizes the research on the relationship between the built and natual environments, as well as current understanding of the role of development patterns, urban design and transportation in improving environmental quality.

The Practice of Low Impact Development

A new HUD document (developed with help from NAHB) that makes the link in a lot of detail and from a practical viewpoint.

Protecting Water Resources with Higher-Density Development

US EPA publication # 231-R-04-002 that modeled three scenarios of different densities at three scales—one-acre level, lot level, and watershed level—and at three different time series build-out examples to examine whether lower-density development is better for water quality than higher-density development.

Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth

US EPA publication #231-R-04-002 that is intended for audiences such as communities, local governments, state and regional planners already familiar with smart growth and are now seeking more ideas on how to protect their water resources. The document is a compilation of 75 policies designed to protect water resources and implement smart growth.

Public Finance for Open Space: A Guide for Pennsylvania’s Municipalities

One in a series of publications from the State of Pennsylvania on protecting and financing open space projects.

"Reining in the Storm -- One Building at a Time"

30-minute video about low impact development in Viriginia.

Riparian Buffer Width, Vegetative Cover, and Nitrogen Removal Effectiveness: A Review of Current Science and Regulations

The goal of this report is to synthesize the existing scientific literature on the effectiveness of riparian buffers to improve water quality through their inherent ability to process and remove excess nitrogen from surface and ground waters.

Riparian Setbacks: Technical Information for Decision Makers

This is a synthesis of recent research findings organized to provide the scientific basis upon which a town or municipality could begin the task of defending a riparian setback ordinance from legal and other other challenges.

RoboCow: Operation H2O

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's 5 minute clip about a superhero cow that corrects poor agricultural practices in a watershed.

Smart Growth for Clean Water Report

This report, produced by the Trust for Public Land and the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP), identifies five smart growth approaches that can improve water quality: land conservation, waterfront brownfields revitalization, urban and community forestry, low impact development, and watershed management

Start at the Source

Design Guidance Manual for Stormwater Quality Protection.

Stormwater Guidelines for Green, Dense Development

Guidelines developed for the City of Emeryville to help developers and designers meet requirements to treat stormwater from development projects.

Stormwater: The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals

Published 8 times per year, this provides information on NPDES Phase II compliance, TMDLs, and other issues related to surface water quality.

Stormwater Resources for Officials, Real Estate Professionals, & Homeowners

Video clips: "Down the Drain" and "Are Vehicle Wastes Carried Away by Stormwater?"

Stormwater Strategies: Community Responses to Runoff Pollution

A collection of 100 case studies to serve as a guide for local decisionmakers, municipal officials, and environmental activists on controlling urban runoff.

This Is Smart Growth

The Smart Growth Network (SGN) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) collaborated on this publication that illustrates how communities can turn their visions, values, and aspirations into reality, using smart growth techniques to improve the quality of development. Thirty-two national organizations, representing the diverse interests of the SGN, have approved This Is Smart Growth.

Treating Stormwater With An Inner-City Wetland In Texas

This is an article about a new stormwater wetland in Houston that promises to help clean pollutants from stormwater as well as create natural habitat and a pleasing public space.

Urban Environmental Design Manual

"Rhode Island's Department of Environmental Management developed the Urban Environmental Design Manual to encourage environmentally sound urban revitalization and infill development by providing guidance to local officials and the development community to demonstrate how smart growth design principles can be integrated with environmental protection and restoration. "

Urban Waterways: Bioretention Performance, Design, Construction, and Maintenance

Research on the effectiveness of bioretention (rain gardens) in North Carolina and surrounding states with specific design, construction and maintenance recommendations.

USEPA Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program

TMDL Reports, providing a summary of the TMDL program, are available here for USEPA Regions and the states

USEPA Stormwater Phase II Program

A primer for municipal wastewater treatment systems.

Using Conservation Easements to Preserve Open Space

One in a series of publications from the State of Pennsylvania on protecting and financing open space projects.

USEPA Stormwater Fact Sheets

Fact sheets that give examples of what EPA has in mind for approaches that might satisfy the intent of this permit requirement everything from swales to zoning:

Using Smart Growth Techniques as Best Management Practices

US EPA publication #231-B-05-002 that details the water benefits of smart growth strategies such as compact development, mixing uses, infill, and critical environment preservation.

Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California

This great report highlights data showing how the largest, least expensive, and most environmentally sound source of water to meet California's future needs - conservation - is the water currently being wasted in every sector of our economy.

Water for Growth

This report by the Public Policy Institute of California examines the State's water supply challenges in light demands and future growth. The report also draws important links between water and land use in California.

Water and Smart Growth: The Impacts of Sprawl on Aquatic Ecosystems

White paper on the connection between sprawl and water resources

Watershed E-News

California Bay-Delta Authority (formerly CalFed) newsletter that lists grants, resources, events, opportunities and other news.