Six high-performing municipalities left the 89th annual Water Environment Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC® 2016) in New Orleans as recipients of this year’s National MS4 Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards.

The distinction, introduced last year to celebrate administrators of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) that perform beyond regulatory requirements, was awarded to the winners during WEFTEC’s annual Stormwater Congress on Sept. 27.

Separated based on the population of the communities they serve, participating municipalities were classified as either
• Phase I, consisting of medium or large cities with over 100,000 customers; or
• Phase II, covering smaller storm sewer systems outside of heavily populated urban areas.

While all entrants received gold, silver, or bronze certificates based on their level of performance in the categories of innovation and program management, three stand-out winners from each classification were chosen in each category. Two additional winners were recognized for achieving combined high scores in both assessments.

The winners of the 2nd annual National MS4 Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards are as follows:

Overall Highest Scores
Phase I –  Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program, Calif.
Phase II –  Capitol Region Watershed District, Minn.

Innovation 
Phase I –  Jefferson Parish Environmental Affairs, La.
Phase II –  City of Auburn, Ala. 

Program Management 
Phase I –  City of Austin, Texas Watershed Protection Department
Phase II –  Kitsap County Public Works, Wash.

Developed by the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applications for the National MS4 Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards were reviewed by a broad steering committee of water sector experts, including representatives from WEF.

Keep an eye on the WEF website for forthcoming information about the application process for next year’s National MS4 Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards.