Stormwater and Resident Engagement
Working Together to Protect Salt Lake County's Water
Healthy waterways begin with informed and engaged communities. Every resident, family, school, neighborhood, and business has an opportunity to improve water quality by preventing pollution before it reaches our storm drains. Because stormwater flows directly into local streams, canals, the Jordan River, wetlands, and ultimately the Great Salt Lake without treatment, everyday actions—such as picking up pet waste, reducing litter, maintaining vehicles, and using fertilizers responsibly—have a direct impact on the health of our watershed.
The Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition believes that protecting water quality is most successful when education is paired with action. Community cleanups, school programs, volunteer projects, neighborhood partnerships, and family stewardship activities create lasting behavior change and build stronger, healthier communities. Municipalities, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and residents, can all help ensure cleaner water for recreation, wildlife, drinking water resources, and future generations.
Why Resident Engagement Matters
Resident engagement is a required component of every Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit because informed residents are one of the most effective defenses against stormwater pollution. Public education alone increases awareness, but education combined with hands-on participation—such as volunteer cleanup events, restoration projects, and citizen science—creates long-term environmental stewardship and measurable improvements in water quality.
Benefits include:cleaner rivers, streams, canals, and wetlands; reduced trash, bacteria, and nutrient pollution; improved neighborhood pride; Increased volunteerism; greater understanding of local water resources; stronger partnerships between municipalities and residents; and compliance with federal and state stormwater permit requirements.
Community Engagement Success Stories
Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition
The Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition demonstrates how regional collaboration can expand education while reducing costs. Coalition members work together to develop educational materials, public awareness campaigns, teacher resources, annual reports, videos, social media content, surveys, and outreach events that help participating municipalities meet stormwater permit requirements through consistent countywide messaging.
Jordan River Commission
The Jordan River Commission promotes watershed stewardship through partnerships, restoration initiatives, educational outreach, trail programs, and best management practices that connect communities with the Jordan River corridor. Their collaborative approach demonstrates how multiple agencies and community organizations can work together to improve watershed health while expanding recreational opportunities.
EPA Public Participation Programs
Across the United States, EPA-supported watershed partnerships have demonstrated that volunteer stream cleanups, storm drain marking projects, neighborhood stewardship programs, and citizen science initiatives improve water quality while increasing public understanding of local environmental issues. These programs consistently show that communities become more invested in protecting waterways when residents have opportunities to participate directly in restoration activities.
Restoring the Jordan River
Addressing E. coli Impairment
The Jordan River is one of Utah's most important urban waterways, providing recreation, wildlife habitat, flood management, and ecological connections throughout Salt Lake County. However, several sections of the watershed are impaired due to elevated concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacteria used as an indicator of fecal contamination. When E. coli concentrations exceed water quality standards, portions of the river may not fully support recreational uses, prompting the development of restoration plans under the federal Clean Water Act. The Utah Division of Water Quality has completed a watershed-wide Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) that identifies sources of bacteria and establishes reduction targets for 14 impaired assessment units in the Jordan River watershed.
Common Sources of E. coli include:
Pet waste left on the ground; Large concentrations of ducks and geese; Illicit sanitary sewer connections; Aging sewer infrastructure;Wildlife; Livestock in some watershed areas; Urban stormwater runoff
What Municipalities Can Do
Expanding pet waste education campaigns; Installing pet waste bag stations in parks and along trails; Improving illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) programs; Conducting dry-weather outfall inspections; Restoring streamside vegetation and riparian buffers; Increasing public outreach on bacteria pollution.; Supporting stream restoration and habitat improvement projects; Coordinating with wastewater utilities and watershed partners; Monitoring water quality and tracking progress toward TMDL goals.
Example Resident Engagement Initiatives Ideas and Resources
Adopt-a-Drain
Program website: Adopt-a-Drainprogram information: Adopt-a-Drain for MS4 Communities
Program developer: Hamline University Center for Global Environmental Education
Contact: Use the contact form available through the Adopt-a-Drain municipal website.
Adopt-a-Drain is a community-based stormwater stewardship initiative through which residents select a neighborhood storm drain, give it a name, and commit to periodically removing leaves, trash, sediment, and other debris from the surrounding area. Volunteers report their cleaning activities and the estimated amount of material removed through an online platform. This creates measurable environmental results while helping residents understand that neighborhood storm drains generally carry runoff—and anything in it—toward local waterways without treatment. The program has engaged more than 20,000 volunteers and is designed for implementation by cities, counties, watershed districts, and other public agencies.
The model is especially useful for municipal stormwater programs because it combines public education, pollution prevention, volunteer participation, geographic tracking, and data collection. Municipalities can promote seasonal drain cleaning before rainstorms, during autumn leaf fall, and when snow begins to melt. The platform can also support school service-learning, neighborhood competitions, volunteer recognition, and targeted outreach in drainage areas that discharge to impaired waterways. The program began in Saint Paul in 2014 through cooperation among the city, the Capitol Region Watershed District, and Hamline University and later expanded into a broader regional and national initiative.
Implementation Steps
Identify program goals. Determine whether the primary objectives are pollution reduction, flood prevention, resident education, MS4 permit compliance, or a combination of these goals.
Map eligible storm drains. Work with engineering, GIS, public works, and stormwater personnel to create or verify a map of drains residents may adopt.
Contact Adopt-a-Drain. Request information about community pricing, data hosting, reporting, branding, and implementation support.
Assign municipal staff. Designate one program coordinator and one public works or stormwater contact to address safety, maintenance, and resident questions.
Develop safety guidance. Tell participants to work from the curb or sidewalk, wear gloves and reflective clothing, avoid entering the street, never open a storm drain, and avoid needles, chemicals, sewage, or other hazardous materials.
Create a local program page. Explain where stormwater goes, why debris is harmful, how to adopt a drain, and how to report collected material.
Recruit initial participants. Begin with municipal employees, schools, neighborhood councils, HOAs, scout groups, service clubs, and existing environmental volunteers.
Launch a public campaign. Use newsletters, social media, utility bill inserts, community events, QR-coded signs, and local media.
Schedule seasonal campaigns. Promote cleaning before forecast storms, during leaf season, after community events, and during spring snowmelt.
Track and recognize results. Report adopted drains, volunteer hours, participation by neighborhood, and pounds of debris removed.
Connect results to water quality. Explain how removing leaves, pet waste, litter, and sediment reduces nutrients, bacteria, plastics, and other pollutants.
Evaluate annually. Compare participation, debris removal, website traffic, survey results, and geographic coverage with the program’s original objectives.
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream
A Statewide Community Water-Quality Monitoring and Stewardship Program
Program website: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream
Getting started: How to Get Started with Adopt-A-Stream
Training opportunities: Workshop Descriptions
Materials and resources: Adopt-A-Stream Materials and Resources
Contact page: Contact Georgia Adopt-A-Stream
Email: AAS@dnr.ga.gov
Mailing/office address: 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE, Suite 1452 East, Atlanta, GA 30334
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream is Georgia’s statewide volunteer water-quality monitoring program. Established in 1993, it is operated as an education and outreach program of the Nonpoint Source Program within the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Watershed Protection Branch. The program trains residents, educators, students, civic groups, and local government partners to evaluate the physical, chemical, biological, and bacterial condition of streams, lakes, and wetlands. Its central goals are to increase awareness of nonpoint-source pollution, collect credible baseline data, document environmental observations, strengthen partnerships between residents and government, and provide communities with the training and tools needed to protect local waterways. The program is supported by state staff and a network of more than 70 local coordinators who provide training, technical assistance, equipment support, and connections to local projects.
Volunteers can participate at different levels according to their interests and available time. Activities include visual stream assessments, watershed evaluations, chemical monitoring, macroinvertebrate surveys, amphibian monitoring, wetland monitoring, and bacterial monitoring for E. coli. Trained volunteers register their monitoring locations and submit results to a centralized online database, allowing observations to be viewed over time and across geographic areas. The program also encourages volunteers to extend their work beyond data collection by conducting school demonstrations, organizing stream cleanups, developing rain gardens, and educating neighbors about pollution prevention. This combination of technical training, recurring participation, public education, and community action provides a strong model for municipalities seeking to move residents from basic awareness to long-term watershed stewardship.
Why This Program Is Relevant to Salt Lake County
A similar model could support Salt Lake County municipalities by creating trained volunteer teams for tributaries, canals, wetlands, and selected Jordan River locations. Volunteers could assist with visual observations, litter documentation, habitat assessments, photo monitoring, and carefully managed water-quality monitoring. The model would be particularly valuable for engaging high schools, universities, neighborhood organizations, environmental groups, and residents who want a continuing role beyond one-time cleanup events.
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream’s bacterial monitoring component is also directly applicable to community education surrounding the Jordan River’s E. coli impairment. Its bacterial monitoring workshop teaches volunteers how to collect water samples, prepare and incubate bacterial test plates, interpret results, and recognize potential sources of contamination. Volunteers must demonstrate practical proficiency and pass a written examination before becoming certified, illustrating the importance of quality assurance when community-generated information may be used to support water-quality decisions.
Step-by-Step Implementation Model
1. Establish the Program’s Purpose
2. Form a Coordinating Partnership
3. Select Appropriate Volunteer Activities
4. Identify and Prioritize Monitoring Sites
5. Establish Safety and Access Requirements
6. Develop a Training Program
7. Recruit and Register Volunteer Teams
8. Obtain Equipment
9. Establish Monitoring and Activity Schedules
10. Create Standard Data Procedures
11. Create an Escalation and Reporting Protocol
12. Pair Monitoring with Community Outreach
13. Review and Communicate Results
14. Recognize and Retain Volunteers
Missouri Stream Team
A Statewide Education, Stewardship, and Volunteer Monitoring Network
Program website: Missouri Stream Team
Program information: About Missouri Stream Team
Registration portal: Missouri Stream Team Portal
Email: streamteam@mdc.mo.gov
Phone: 1-800-781-1989
Mailing address: Missouri Stream Team, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180
Missouri Stream Team is a statewide network that helps residents become actively involved in stream conservation through education, stewardship, and advocacy. The program grew out of Missouri’s first Rivers and Streams Conference in 1988 and operates through a partnership involving citizens and public agencies. Teams may include families, school groups, neighborhood organizations, fishing clubs, conservation groups, businesses, and individual volunteers. Rather than limiting participation to a single annual event, the model supports continuing relationships between volunteer teams and particular streams or watersheds.
Activities may include litter removal, storm-drain stenciling, streambank restoration, educational presentations, watershed inventories, public awareness projects, and volunteer water-quality monitoring. This makes the program a useful example for municipalities seeking to build a progressive engagement system: residents can begin with a cleanup or educational activity and later pursue training that allows them to collect credible environmental observations or monitoring data. The program also maintains centralized staff support, volunteer registration, activity reporting, training opportunities, and annual documentation of program accomplishments.
Logical Implementation Steps
Define the geographic structure. Decide whether teams will adopt individual stream reaches, subwatersheds, parks, canals, or municipal drainage areas.
Establish a lead partnership. Include municipal stormwater staff, parks personnel, environmental health staff, watershed organizations, schools, and state water-quality agencies.
Create team categories. Allow families, classrooms, businesses, community organizations, and individuals to form or join teams.
Develop an activity menu. Offer entry-level and advanced options, including cleanups, storm-drain marking, education, photo monitoring, habitat restoration, and water-quality monitoring.
Prepare volunteer standards. Establish safety procedures, land-access requirements, data protocols, youth-supervision expectations, and rules for handling hazardous waste.
Create a registration system. Collect team names, leaders, contact information, preferred waterways, anticipated activities, and volunteer numbers.
Provide orientation. Explain watershed connections, stormwater pollution, local impairments, appropriate activities, and reporting requirements.
Offer technical training. Develop training for volunteers who will conduct stream assessments, visual observations, or water-quality monitoring.
Supply equipment. Create loan kits containing cleanup supplies, field forms, monitoring instruments, safety equipment, and educational materials.
Assign each team a contact. A municipal or partner coordinator should answer questions, approve projects, and connect teams with technical assistance.
Require activity reporting. Track volunteers, hours, stream miles, trash removed, educational contacts, observations, and monitoring results.
Share annual results. Publish a community stream stewardship report and recognize teams that demonstrate sustained participation.
Create an advancement pathway. Invite experienced volunteers to mentor new teams, lead trainings, or serve on watershed advisory groups.
Clean the Bay Day
Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Local Government Partnerships
Program website: Clean the Bay Day
Locations and registration: Clean the Bay Day Locations
Email: ctbd@cbf.org
Phone: 757-644-4122
Chesapeake Bay Foundation general phone: 1-888-SAVEBAY or 1-888-728-3229
Clean the Bay Day is a coordinated, large-scale volunteer cleanup organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in collaboration with local governments, nonprofits, military installations, businesses, community organizations, and sponsors. Rather than directing every participant to one location, organizers establish numerous hosted sites and allow volunteers to select opportunities suited to their location, interests, mobility, and level of experience. Projects can include shoreline cleanups, inland waterway cleanups, neighborhood litter collection, small-boat cleanups, and family-friendly projects.
The initiative demonstrates how a regional organization can establish consistent branding, registration, safety expectations, data collection, and publicity while local municipalities manage site-level implementation. In 2025, nearly 3,500 volunteers and more than 70 partner organizations worked at over 200 sites and removed more than 70,000 pounds of debris and litter. Its partnership structure is especially relevant to Salt Lake County because a countywide coalition could provide shared messaging and event coordination while each participating municipality selects cleanup areas, recruits local partners, supplies site leaders, and reports common performance measures.
Logical Implementation Steps
Choose a common event period. Select a countywide day, weekend, or month during which participating municipalities will host local projects.
Establish a central coordinating organization. Assign the coalition or lead agency responsibility for branding, registration standards, shared messaging, and regional reporting.
Recruit municipal site partners. Invite cities, service districts, parks agencies, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and community councils to host cleanup locations.
Identify priority sites. Use drainage maps, complaint records, visual surveys, outfall data, and staff knowledge to identify high-litter waterways and stormwater pathways.
Obtain approvals. Confirm property access, environmental restrictions, waste-hauling arrangements, traffic control, and any necessary permits.
Designate site captains. Each captain should complete training on safety, volunteer check-in, waste handling, data collection, and emergency procedures.
Create project classifications. Label events as family-friendly, accessible, strenuous, waterside, neighborhood-based, or suitable for boats.
Open centralized registration. Allow volunteers to search by municipality, activity type, time, age requirements, and accessibility.
Prepare supplies. Deliver gloves, bags, grabbers, first-aid materials, scales, sorting containers, safety vests, and reporting forms to each site.
Provide a brief educational message. Before work begins, explain how litter moves through storm drains and waterways and identify two or three prevention actions.
Collect consistent data. Record participants, hours, pounds of material, number of bags, unusual items, recyclables, and areas cleaned.
Arrange prompt waste removal. Ensure collected debris does not remain at the site or return to the waterway.
Publicize results. Share photos, volunteer stories, maps, and regional totals with elected officials, residents, and partner organizations.
Use findings for prevention. Repeatedly finding the same items may indicate a need for more receptacles, better enforcement, business outreach, or targeted education.
Stormwater Education for Schools & Families
Children are among the most effective ambassadors for clean water. Students who learn about watersheds often share what they have learned with their families, creating lasting community-wide impacts. The Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition offers curriculum, classroom activities, videos, and educational resources aligned with Utah science standards for educators, homeschool families, and youth organizations.
Educational Activities
Watershed models
Stormwater experiments
Stream table demonstrations
Water quality investigations
Storm drain mapping
Nature journaling
Rain garden projects
Community science activities
Pollution prevention games
Student service-learning projects
Resources for Residents, Families & Educators
Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition
Salt Lake County
Jordan River Commission
Additional Educational Resources
Best Practices for Resident Engagement
Libraries
Faith organizations
Youth clubs
Universities
Environmental nonprofits
Local businesses
Garden clubs
Build Strong Partnerships
Work with:
School districts
Parent-teacher organizations
Scout groups
Community councils
Neighborhood associations
Communicate Frequently
The most successful municipalities reinforce messages year-round through multiple channels:
Social media
Municipal newsletters
Utility bill inserts
Community events
Farmers markets
Library displays
School presentations
HOA meetings
Park signage
Community websites
Short educational videos
Celebrate Community Success
Recognize volunteers by:
Highlighting cleanup accomplishments
Sharing volunteer stories
Recognizing schools and organizations
Publishing annual stewardship reports
Providing volunteer appreciation events
Awarding community stewardship certificates