Stormwater conveys chemicals, sediments, and debris as it flows into various waterways such as lakes, rivers, and oceans. These pollutants can have detrimental effects to aquatic organisms and humans who live in or interact with these bodies of water. California is often recognized as a leader in implementing stormwater runoff management regulations. This research assessed the efficiency of the State’s industrial stormwater regulatory system through an analysis of data from the publicly available Storm Water Multiple Application and Report Tracking System (SMARTS) database for California’s Industrial General Permit program from 2007 through 2016. California statewide yearly compliance ranged from as low as 2% to 100% compliance with the regulation. The lowest percent compliance was calculated for magnesium in 2016 with 1.7% compliance. Compliance by type of industry showed an increasing compliance trend for the period 2007 through 2016 with an average percent compliance of 61 – 91%. The “Wines, Brandy, and Brandy Spirits” industry had the highest average percent compliance (93%) of the 21 industry types studied. “Local Trucking without Storage” industry had the lowest average percent compliance at 51%. In 2015, the Industrial General Permit 2014-0057-DWQ was enacted in California and compliance rates showed a statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) increase in 5 of the 21 studied parameters: biochemical oxygen demand, oil & grease, pH, total suspended solids, and zinc. Overall, California is on trajectory of an increasing percent compliance.
