Page 448 - Fair, Geyer, and Okun's Water and wastewater engineering : water supply and wastewater removal

JWCL344_ch12_398-456.qxd 8/4/10 9:37 PM Page 407

12.3 The Planning Process 407
The types of goals set by a municipality usually depend on the natural or political
forces driving urban runoff control and the public’s level of knowledge about the affected
water body. Communities might not know or be aware of existing or potential water qual-
ity problems. Even under these conditions, however, setting general goals, such as “to meet
the requirements of the regulations,” is not only possible, but important. Even this general
goal directs the program’s focus, which then can be made more specific as more informa-
tion is obtained. In these cases, the municipality typically has to rely on state-mandated
goals for the specific water body of concern or general state mandates for the condition of
all water bodies. Goal setting will focus the scope of work throughout a program.

12.3.5 Collect and Analyze Additional Data

Even under the best circumstances, municipalities usually will not have all of the required
information to describe adequately a program area’s existing conditions. The program
team, therefore, might have to gather additional information through field investigation
and data collection. With this additional information and existing data, the program team
can evaluate more fully the existing conditions of the watersheds and water resources of
concern. Given the cost and time involved in data gathering, the program team will have to
weigh the benefits of additional data collection against using limited funds for plan devel-
opment and implementation. If the additional data are required, a plan to gather these data
must be developed. The plan should include:
1. An assessment of available staffing and analytical resources
2. Identification of sampling stations, frequencies, and parameters for sampling and
analysis
3. Development of a plan to manage, analyze, and interpret the collected data
4. Analysis of available or needed financial resources.

12.3.6 Refine Site-Specific Goals

Far from static statements, water resource- or technology-based goals should be reassessed
as appropriate in the planning process. Once early goals have been stated for a watershed
or receiving water, all future actions affecting these resources can be considered against
this backdrop and the goals can be reassessed. As more information is gathered, the goals
can be maintained, made more specific, or changed completely. By the time the program is
defined and ready to be implemented; however, fairly specific goals should exist so that
program evaluators can determine whether or not goals have been met.

12.3.7 Assess and Rank Problems
Once sufficient data have been collected and analyzed, the data can then be used to assess
and rank the problems. Based on data gathered in earlier steps, the team will need to de-
velop a list of criteria to assess problems. These criteria are used in conjunction with water
quality assessment methods and models to determine current impacts and future desired
conditions.
Having determined the problems of concern, the project team can rank these problems
to set priorities for the selection and implementation of pollution prevention and runoff
control measures. The emphasis on ranking of resources and problems is central to the
planning strategy. This concept assumes that focusing resources on targeted areas or