As part of the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program strives to regulate point sources that discharge pollutants into United States waters. In accordance with this mandate, many public works professionals must continually look for ways to reduce the impact of storm water runoff from construction sites and other disturbed areas.

The problem
The engineering department for the City of Madison, Wis. , regulates storm water activity by issuing erosion-prevention and sediment-control permits for projects. These projects range from small, quarter-acre single-family homes to multiple-acre plot grading projects. In most cases, these permits require weekly inspections, supplemented by additional inspections in response to substantial rainfall events or complaints.

Identify project locations via Google maps.

As a result, city staff is faced with the daunting task of administering erosion- and sediment- control permits and enforcing best management practice requirements for the various projects within city limits. In Madison, this involves thousands of inspections on hundreds of construction projects, to be completed by two certified inspectors available for field inspections on a part-time basis.

Although permitted contractors are required to self-inspect their projects weekly and after rainfall, administration and enforcement of the permit has remained the city’s responsibility. A limited number of inspection resources, finite budget dollars and the desire to provide residents with up-to-date inspection data stretched the City of Madison to its breaking point.

A solution
To remedy the problem, the City of Madison approached SEH Inc. to determine the viability of building a Web-based database to track and manage all erosion-control permit-related data for projects within the city’s jurisdiction. City Engineer Larry Nelson and his staff worked with SEH to compile a detailed list of applications, requirements and functions, resulting in PermiTrackESC, a Web-based tool accessible through the SEH Client Access Point.

Using wireless handheld PDAs (and/or standard notebook computers) with phone and Internet capabilities, inspection staff can now visit construction sites, create inspection reports, take and save related photos, view the site’s erosion- control inspection history and immediately record observations directly to a single database.

Identify project locations via Google maps.

City staff members no longer have to keep track of and file paper reports, and they are relieved from the need to re-enter data back at the office, freeing up valuable time. All information recorded in the field becomes instantly available and can be provided to anyone else with Web access and the appropriate authorization.

In addition, a Web link provides access to all inspection data via the Google map interface through the World Wide Web. The information can then be accessed by inspection staff, administrators and even concerned citizens. This simplifies the process of finding relevant project data and enables citizens to play a valuable role in erosion-control reporting and follow-up.

Greg Fries , Principal Engineer I for the City of Madison, has been pleased with the results. " PermiTrackESC allows us to cover as much ground as possible with our limited resources, while providing our residents with unprecedented access to inspection information and construction activities around the City,” he said.

Jason Sprague is the Director of Web Portal Services for SEH, Inc. He can be reached at 866/830-3388 or at jsprague@sehinc.com.