NPDES Annual Report

Watershed Management hosts open houses to engage the public and provide information on upcoming projects.

One such event, focused on the Flood Mitigation Master Plan, was held on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at the Belmont Recreation Center.

Flood Mitigation Master Plan Open House at Belmont Rec Center

Trash Collected at Oak Lake Clean Up Event July 5, 2024

The Watershed Management Division actively engages local residents in protecting our waterways through the Adopt-a-Stream program. As new stream segments are added to the program, volunteer participation continues to grow. During this reporting period, 282 volunteers participated in 23 cleanup events, collectively removing 9,253 pounds of trash from local streams, creeks, and waterways.

Total trash/debris removed was weighed and properly disposed of

Nebraska Game and Parks also contributed to the program by organizing a “Kayak Cleanup” event at Holmes Lake in September 2024. Volunteers collected 78 pounds of trash and debris from the lake during this event.

Game and Parks held a Kayak Cleanup at Holmes Lake

Removing trash from streams and their surrounding areas not only fulfills public engagement requirements under the permit but also contributes directly to improving local water quality.

Used oil collected from the public at the North 48th Street Solid Wastement Management Facility totaled 900 gallons (total for KNB green” for the FY 23-24). Other oil recycling is specific to the equipment/vehicle maintenance operations for the Solid Waste Management Division with a total collection of 1465 gallons.

Properly Dispose of Used Oil Only at Approved Locations

In the Summer-Fall seasons of 2023-24 the dry weather team monitored 50 outfall sites in Lincoln (including one revisit from 2023). A total of 15 samples were collected at sites that were found to have flow to detect potential illicit and illegal connections to the storm drain system. Monitoring locations are shown in Figure 1(PDF, 742KB).

Testing Done on Flow Found During Dry Weather Monitoring

Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) investigated 67 reports of illicit discharges, with 17 of those having actual water impact.

Accident spills are significant sources of illicit disharges to the storm drain system

Examples of illicit discharges include vehicles leaking fuel, oil, or other fluids; paint washed out of brushes or rollers at the curb; grease discharges from restaurants; grey water or wastewater discharges; antifreeze and other chemicals spilled, dumped, poured or power washed into the storm drain system; and garbage junk and litter.

Illicit Discharge Example by EPA of an oil sheen on the water

Some responses involve multiple departmental/divisional response:

The dredging of the 139-year-old Wyuka Cemetery Pond was a joint community effort to create not only an aesthetically pleasing place to visit, but act as a stormwater runoff zone that drains over 255 acres of land south of “O” Street.

Wyuka Cemetary Pond Negotiations began 2017 The newly dredged pond looking at the Swan House

The Watershed Management Division maintains a centralized database for tracking construction site permits and related inspection activity. construction site activity. All inspections conducted by Watershed Management staff are logged into this database and spatially mapped for analysis (see Figure 3(PDF, 910KB)).

During the permit period from September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024, a total of 4,114 inspections were performed on small construction sites (less than one acre), and 903 inspections were conducted on large sites (one acre or greater).

To encourage public engagement and raise awareness, the city offers an online reporting platform, SeeClickFix. One of the designated reporting categories is “Mud in the Street Due to Construction.” (See Figure 12(, 0B) for reported locations.)

Training is provided to site contractors and developers

In addition to on-site education, the city provides annual training to Contractors to ensure compliance with permit requirements and to communicate any regulatory updates. This year’s Sediment and Erosion Control Seminar was held on January 25, 2024, at the Museum of American Speed. Details about the annual training can be found at lincoln.ne.gov using the keyword “sediment.”

Staff also participated in the 811 Summit on February 21, 2024, which focuses on One Call safety.

This event brings together contractors from various industries and offers a valuable opportunity for sediment and erosion control inspectors to promote best practices on construction sites.

Staff attended the 811 Summit Conference

Watershed Management staff conducted 85 inspections of retention and detention ponds to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing stormwater pollutants and providing flood control (see Figure 8(PDF, 744KB) for locations). The inspection findings are available in the Retention/Detention Pond Summary Report.

In addition, 67 Post-Construction Best Management Practice (BMP) sites were inspected, and staff reviewed 22 new Post-Construction BMP applications during the reporting period.

Northwest High School East End PCBMP

All curbed streets are swept annually, at a minimum. Additional sweeping occurs on arterial and residential streets in high debris zones to reduce litter and pollutants from entering the storm drain system. Sweeping activities shall follow LTU’s street sweeping operating procedure.

A total of 9,890 lane miles of residential streets, 9,440 curb miles of arterial streets, and 769 curb miles in business districts were swept during this permit term. Combined, these efforts resulted in the removal of approximately 3,868 tons of debris, which would have otherwise entered local streams, creeks, and retention ponds.

Street sweepers, such as the one shown above, can be used to clean roadways on a regular schedule.

Further details about these and other Watershed Management projects are available on the City of Lincoln Watershed Management website, using the keyword “projects.”

In this permit term, the Health Department conducted inspections at 23 municipal facilities that are required to be inspected under EPA’s “Good Housekeeping” program. (see Figure 6(PDF, 737KB)).

Municipal Inspections are conducted annually by the Health Department

The State approved the use of Best Management Practices (BMP) monitoring to fulfill wet weather monitoring requirements for this permit term. This year served as an administrative extension of the current permit, providing staff additional time to review existing monitoring sites and evaluate the need for new ones.

Pave Drain area at 12th & “D” with Sample Bottles at the Outflow

Current BMP monitoring sites include:

• Planters at the Municipal Service Center
• Tyrrell Park Regional Bioretention Area
• Storm Drain Inlet Filter at Coffee Shop (New)
• Pave Drain Alley – Permeable Pavers (New)
• Cedar Cove Hydrodynamic Separator (New)

Based on the final data analysis, some monitoring sites may be adjusted or replaced in the next permit term.

Automatic Sampler set up at Cedar Cove