Source Control

Photo of a wet, square stormdrain with oily sheen flowing

Stormwater is not treated by the city sewer system.

Stormwater carries pollutants into local streams, lakes, groundwater, and Puget Sound. The City of Lacey’s Water Resources Team partners with businesses to protect and improve water quality.

An inspector in a purple shirt stands outdoors, inspecting a storm drain.

The City’s source control program helps identify and prevent pollutants your business generates from reaching stormwater. Stormwater source control is an effective approach to finding potential pollution sources to prevent them from traveling with rainwater down a stormdrain.

Grease, garbage, detergents, sediment, and paint are some of the pollutants the community generates. Our team can identify what pollutants your business generates and the appropriate best management practices (BMPs) to prevent, contain, or reduce these sources.

Public and private commercial and industrial facilities in Lacey are subject to source control inspections, per the City’s municipal stormwater permit (NPDES Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit). In addition to keeping in compliance with this permit, it is in all of our best interest to protect our valued water resources.

Read About Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Correct illicit discharges to storm drains.

A stormwater catch basin has spill prevention waddling and pads set up to prevent pollution from entering the catch basin. — Develop and implement a plan for spills. Keep spill kits handy.

Illicit discharges are unpermitted discharges to storm drains or surface water. These can include pool water, cleaning solutions, pressure washing runoff, and more.

Identify if your place of business has any potential sources of illicit discharges and eliminate them.

Can your discharge be routed to the sewer?
Can it be run through filtration or decontamination?
Can the discharge be completely eliminated? If not, you may need to obtain a permit.

Form a pollution prevention team.

A group of coworkers sits around a table with their instructor at the head of the room. The instructor is pointing to a monitor, teaching the group about pollution prevention.

The pollution prevention team should be familiar with your facilities and understand how to assess activities that could impact stormwater at your site. Team members will implement and maintain BMPs for your site.

Conduct preventative maintenance and good housekeeping.

Reduce the potential for stormwater to become polluted through these actions:

Prevent the discharge of liquid or solid waste to storm drains, ground, or surface water. Direct contaminated water to sanitary sewer or appropriate containment.
Contain and clean up spills or leaks, including on soil, vegetation, or pavement.
Collect washwater from pressure washing to containment for proper disposal.
Convey polluted water to a treatment system, sanitary sewer, or other containment for proper disposal.
Store liquids in durable, covered containers.
Store waste like grease or oil in durable, leakproof, covered containers.

A photo of large white plastic storage containers for used oil — Properly stored pollutants keep stormwater safe and reduce liability for your business.

Practice spill prevention and clean up.

Label and store potential pollutants in a safe area. Secondary containment like drip pans, tarps, or chemical storage lockers may be required.
Develop and put in place a spill response plan. All staff should be trained to spot spills. They should also be trained to safely contain and report spills.
Have spill report information plainly visible for all staff and call (360) 491-5644.

An inspector in a black shirt high fives another inspector in a purple shirt, while pointing to the storm drain. — Simple steps like using spill pads or containment can prevent illicit discharges.

A storage space with organized containers, a metal locker, and a clean floor — Placing items that could leak or discharge pollutants within secondary containment will prevent illicit discharges.

Conduct employee training.

An instructor in a purple shirt standing next to her presentation on a large screen television. — Royce Young, Lacey’s Stormwater Program Coordinator, trains City staff on illicit discharge detection and elimination.

Train all staff that work in pollutant source areas about how to identify pollutants, control measures, spill prevention and cleanup, and best practices for handling pollutant source materials.

Conduct regular inspection

Ensure that responsible, trained staff conduct monthly inspections. Document these inspections, which should reflect the conditions of pollutant sources, their containment and any suggested follow-up actions.