In a special ceremony, Governor Dayton recently recognized the stormwater staff's work to move its 850-page stormwater manual into a web-based format.
The previous manual — at 850 pages and 25 megabytes online — offered a wealth of information, but it was hard to update, difficult to download because of size, was very time-consuming for staff to maintain, and became out of date quickly.
Thanks to Clean Water Legacy Act funding and a design team from public agencies and private firms, the manual was moved to a web-based format that can be rapidly updated with new developments. The wiki offers quick ways to search for information, provide feedback to the MPCA, and update the contents. Use of the manual has increased 50-fold, with more than 2.7 million hits in 18 months of operation.
Cities and developers who need to control urban stormwater to prevent pollution of lakes and streams have a powerful tool in the MPCA’s wiki version of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual. The manual now allows users to collaborate with each other and quickly locate the most recent stormwater information, offering a resource for those who need to comply with stormwater regulations.
“Whether you’re new to stormwater or you’ve been working in the field for years, there is a lot to like about the wiki platform,” said Mike Trojan of the MPCA’s municipal stormwater program. “But perhaps the most important feature is that we can update the manual on the fly."
The wiki provides a mechanism to incorporate new information as it becomes available. Currently, there is a great deal of stormwater research being conducted, and it’s critical to incorporate the latest information on topics such as best management practices, design, construction, maintenance, and pollutant removal."