Measure 1: Public Education and Outreach

An important component of your stormwater program is informing citizens about stormwater and the impacts of their actions on water quality. The ultimate goal of public education is to convince citizens to take individual actions to protect and improve local water quality. Another goal of public education is to increase local support for stormwater needs, including volunteer activities (such as storm drain marking and Adopt-A-Stream) and funding initiatives.

There is a tremendous amount of public education and outreach material already available, so don’t reinvent the wheel. Most organizations are pleased to share their materials as long as you give them the credit. For example, the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources has created a Public Awareness and Outreach Toolkit that contains free public education content specifically intended for use by local governments in North Carolina. This website contains many other examples of public education materials organized according to topic under Measure 3c.

In your Phase II stormwater permit, you will find the following table under Public Education and Outreach. Your individual permit may vary slightly. Click on the links to find specific guidance for each of the BMPs.

BMP	Measurable Goals
a) Establish a public education and outreach program	Develop a public education program and implement within 12 months of the permit issue date. Incorporate outreach elements for significant minority and disadvantaged communities.
b) Informational web site	Develop and maintain internet web site. Post newsletter articles on stormwater, information on water quality, stormwater projects and activities, and ways to contact stormwater management program staff.
c) Public education materials for schools, homeowners, and/or businesses	Develop general stormwater educational material targeting school children, homeowners, and/or businesses.
d) Public education material dissemination	Distribute written material through utility mailouts, at special events, and at high traffic businesses.

Note: You can view a copy of your own local government's stormwater permit on the NC Division of Water Quality Stormwater Unit web site.

Download public education training slides here.