Water Quality & Land Management

Contact Information:
Taylor "Chips" Kirschenfeld

Senior Scientist and Division Manager
595-3449

Glynn Key Stormwater Wetland Coastal Low Impact Development Case Study

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The NPDES Stormwater Program is a national program, mandated by Congress under the Clean Water Act, to address non-agricultural sources of stormwater discharges which adversely affect the quality of our nation’s waters. The program, which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and delegated to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), regulates the discharge of stormwater by municipalities, industries, and certain
construction activities. FDEP issues permits to monitor and control the quality of stormwater being released and its effects on the receiving water bodies.

Stormwater pond The FDEP issued an NPDES permit to Escambia County as a co-permittee with the City of Pensacola, the Town of Century, and the Florida Department of Transportation on January 1, 1999. This permit, which contains strict monitoring and reporting requirements, was renewed in May 2012 and is valid for five years

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

In September 2003, the county’s consultant prepared the Escambia County Ambient Water Quality Report, which is the first phase of the countywide watershed management approach. This report provides a preliminary evaluation of the status of water quality in Escambia County utilizing the FDEP methodology described in Chapter 62-303 F.A.C. (Identification of Impaired Surface Waters and Criteria for Surface Water Quality Classification). In this report, statistical analysis of existing water quality data was utilized to list and rank Escambia County waterbodies according to their degree of water quality impairment. This ranking enables the county to prioritize stormwater and water quality improvement projects in those watersheds that are most impaired and, therefore, most in need of improvement projects.

Summaries of water quality data for 26 waterbodies that are included on the State of Florida 303(d) Planning List of Impaired Waters are provided below. Monitoring data shows these waterbodies have exceeded one or more state water quality standards. TMDLs will be calculated for those waterbodies that are elevated from this Planning List to the Verified List of Impaired Waters. Waterbodies on the Verified List exceed the specific criteria of Florida’s Impaired Waters Rule. TMDLs will establish the maximum quantity of a particular pollutant that can be discharged into a waterbody while still maintaining that waterbody’s designated use. Escambia County Water Quality and Land Management Division scientists monitor water and sediment quality and collect data for the TMDL program and for the NPDES stormwater permit requirements.

Links

Escambia County Storm Water NPDES Permit Educational Tools and Resources.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection 303(d) Lists and Maps.

Reports

Pensacola_Bay_Restoration_Project (5.87 MB)

Perdido_Bay_Restoration_Project (1.33 MB)

Urban and Community Forest 2011 (1.83 MB)

Urban and Community Forest 2012 (2.77 MB)

Southern Escambia County Florida's Urban Forests (813 KB)