Cannabis Stormwater Runoff Monitoring

The rain is on its way.
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With rain comes stormwater runoff. The State Water Resource Control Board requires monitoring and reporting of cannabis cultivation sites during months of rain events. The tests for stormwater runoff include a turbidity test and pH test. These tests shall be performed once per calendar month when precipitation exceeds 0.25 inches per day or when storm water runoff is noticed leaving a cultivation site.

Stormwater runoff monitoring is required for dischargers that are either tier 1 or tier 2 and fall under moderate-risk or high-risk categories.

Moderate Risk: Any portion of the disturbed area has a slope greater than 30 percent, but less than 50 percent, and all the disturbed area complies with required setbacks to riparian areas.

High Risk: Any Portion of the disturbed area is within the required setbacks to riparian areas.
Remember that the risk classification is not permanent. We can work with you to develop a plan that would reconfigure the site to comply with setbacks. Once we meet the ordinance requirements we can request reclassification of the site.

Stormwater runoff monitoring will be conducted every month where activity is occurring until winterization is complete. Constituents (turbidity & pH) shall be monitored with a calibrated instrument. The samples must be an accurate representation of the site. This means there needs to be multiple samples of multiple runoff locations if applicable. This would give the best representation of the actual stormwater runoff leaving the cultivation site.

A hard copy of the report must be submitted to the State Water Board or Regional Water Board. These agencies may require an electronic submittal of monitoring reports. This would be done using the State Water Board’s CIWQS (California Integrated Water Quality System) program website.

If you want help figuring out if Commercial Cannabis is a possibility for your property, please call us as we are here to help!

Planning your Cannabis Cultivation Project

The BC Engineering Group staff has submitted numerous Stormwater Runoff reports and can walk you through every step of the Cannabis use permitting process. As a leading civil engineering design firm, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have regarding cannabis cultivation. Take advantage of our experience and contact us today for your cannabis and agricultural land development needs, we are here to help.

For more information on cannabis cultivation permitting and other land planning services, please contact us at 707-542-4321, or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also stay up to date with civil engineering and land planning issues by subscribing to our blog.