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FAU Stormwater Management Program

FAU Stormwater Management Program

The goal of the FAU Stormwater Management Program is to eliminate pollution resulting from stormwater discharges. FAU uses a variety of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure that runoff from FAU property and construction sites as well as impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops do not adversely affect water quality.

FAU policy specifically prohibits illicit discharges to its stormwater management system. Illicit discharges include, but are not limited to releasing chemicals, oils, gas, antifreeze, fertilizers, trash, debris, and construction sediments to the environment. Those responsible for illicit discharges may be cited under applicable laws and ordinances.

Report/Complaints/Concerns for Illicit Discharges at FAU

Call us:

EH&S Office -  561-297-3129,  Monday -  Friday  8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

University Police Department -  561-297-3500  After hours, weekends or holidays  

or Click the link below:                                                                    

REPORT ILLICIT DISCHARGES Submit Comment

FAU encourages members of the University Community and the General Public to report all comments and compliants, including compliants regarding construction activities to EH&S using the methods listed above.

What is Illicit Discharge? 

Anything that enters a storm drain or directly into a river that is NOT uncontaminated stormwater is an illicit discharge (or non-permitted discharge) and is against the law.  

Non-permitted discharges contribute high levels of pollutants including but not limited to: heavy metals, toxics, oil and grease, solvents, nutrients, and bacteria to streams, lakes, and rivers.  

Did you know? 

•        Storm drains transport rainwater from driveways, roads, and yards directly into nearby streams.  They DO NOT go to a treatment plant or get treated before being discharged like sanitary sewer water.

•       Anything you put in a storm drain ends up in a creek, river, or body of water – where you swim and fish.

•       One quart of oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of drinking water.  

•       A 2012 estimate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that 35% of U.S. waters are not even clean enough to support fishing or swimming because of pollutants such as bacteria.  

The EPA MS4 Program at a Glance
The storm drain system in our community is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permit program.  When this permit is issued, the EPA is giving approval to the community to discharge stormwater to surface waters – with the understanding that only clean stormwater will be discharged.  Our community then becomes responsible for ensuring that nothing enters the system that can pollute our lakes, rivers, and streams.       

Exempted (Allowable) Non-Stormwater Discharges

•       Water line flushing

•       Landscape irrigation

•       Diverted stream flows

•       Rising ground water

•       Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration

•       Foundation and footing drains

•       Air conditioning condensation

•       Water from crawl space pumps

•       Discharges from firefighting activities

•       Flows from wetlands

•       Springs

•       Residential swimming pool discharges  

What can YOU do to help prevent illicit stormwater discharge? 

There are simple steps we can take to solve the problems our local waterways face.  It’s up to YOU, the homeowner and business owners who call Riley County home, to clean it up and to help keep it clean!

1.     Used oil, antifreeze, and batteries can be recycled.  Clean up any spills immediately – kitty litter or sawdust will absorb the spill.  Be sure to sweep these up as well.  

2.     Wash your car with biodegradable products on the lawn so that water, detergent, and dirt will be filtered by the soil.  Better yet, take your car to a commercial car wash, where the wash water is sent to the wastewater treatment plant.  

3.     Empty bottles of household cleaners, pesticides, and weed killer should be disposed of according to label directions.  

4.     Grass clippings in the street should be swept up after each mowing.  Grass clippings left in the street are being washed down into the storm sewers and end up in the local waterways where they have the potential to cause algae blooms.  

5.      Many household waste products, including paints, paint thinners, solvents, used oils, herbicides, and lawn chemicals can be taken free of charge to locations around Palm Beach County.  For more information go to https://www.myboca.us/686/Hazardous-Waste.

6.     When walking your pet use a bag or scooper to clean up your pet’s waste.  In order to keep animal waste from contaminating our community, anyone who walks a pet should properly dispose of waste by picking it up, wrapping it, and either placing it into the trash or flushing it UNWRAPPED!

Report any of the following violations to the FAU Office of Environmental, Health, and Safety


•       Oil sheen in a body of water

•       Leaves or grass clippings being deposited in or near storm drains

•       Sewage odor from a storm drain inlet, or body of water

•       Spills or dumping of oil, paint, household cleaners, antifreeze, pesticides, or fertilizers

•       Sediment tracking from construction sites into streets and storm drain inlets

•       Illegal dumping (at sites where regular garbage and trash is not picked up)

•       Witnessing anything being disposed of into a storm drain

This program will succeed with strong public participation

For a more comprehensive list and guidance for what you can do to help improve stormwater continue to the information below, or go to the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov and search “Stormwater”.

FAU Stormwater Management Program Menu:

FAU EH&S Stormwater Video - simple steps you can take to help prevent stormwater pollution.

FAU Stormwater Management Program - Annual Report - Feedback by way of comments is encouraged and welcomed. Please email the FAU Environmental Compliance Officer, Bill Ware at warew@fau.edu 

FAU South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Master Permit Maps - These represent the current permitted conditions as well as the proposed modified conditions for the FAU SFWMD Master Permit.

SFWMD Master Permit - Permitted Conditions
SFWMD Master Permit - Modified Conditions

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