A key component of sustainable stormwater management is ensuring that practices claimed for pollutant reduction credit actually exist, are working as intended, and are maintained properly. Without sufficient inspection and maintenance procedures, practices may suffer from reduced water quality function and lose other community benefits.  This webpage from the Chesapeake Stormwater Network contains resources on BMP inspection and maintenance including recommended guidance documents and six webcasts.

Though not typically included in the urban stormwater sector, there are opportunities for communities to achieve pollutant reductions through upgrades to residential septic systems and small wastewater treatment plants.  Residential septic systems, especially older ones, are prone to nitrogen leaks.  Upgrading the pre-treatment tank or making enhancements to the drainfield can be effective nitrogen reduction strategies.  Upgrading wastewater treatment plants is another effective nutrient reduction strategy.

The term "Nutrient Discharges" refers to a wide range of non-stormwater flows polluting urban waters during dry weather due to spills, leaks, and overflows from storm sewers and sanitary sewers. Dry weather nutrient discharges collectively account for as much as 20 to 40% of the annual nutrient load in urban watersheds.  Illicit discharge prevention is the practice of locating, eliminating and preventing non-stormwater entries into storm drain systems.  The Chesapeake Stormwater Network provides a variety of resources on illicit discharge prevention.

Street sweeping can earn communities only a modest pollutant reduction credit.  While street sweepers may reduce trash or toxic contaminants, which are abundant in urban street solids, older technologies that use mechanical broom sweepers do little to reduce nutrients and sediment. While these mechanical sweepers may pick up large particles, they do not pick up the smaller particles that impact water quality.  Upgrading to more effective technologies like Regenerative Air Sweepers and Vacuum Assisted Sweepers can help increase pollution reduction efficiency.

New techniques have been pioneered in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to restore urban streams using diverse approaches such as natural channel design, regenerative stream channel, and removal of legacy sediments.  While each approach is different, they all seek to restore the function of the stream channel by preventing sediment from bank erosion, promoting in stream denitrification, and increasing interaction with the floodplain.  The Chesapeake Stormwater Network provides a variety of resources on urban stream restoration.

There are two types of tree planting activities that can earn Bay Pollution Diet credit for your community.  Urban tree canopy expansion includes small-scale residential planting or new street trees. This practice provides pollution reduction credit for every new, individually planted tree in a developed community. Urban forest planting establishes a forest-like condition, and provides credit by meeting state planting density and understory management requirements.

Urban nutrient management can make lawn's more Bay-friendly and reduce the risk that fertilizers or plant biomass will enter the Bay. When combined with lower phosphorus content in lawn fertilizer due to recent state laws, these practices can greatly reduce the risk that nitrogen and phosphorus will enter stormwater or move through groundwater.  In addition to the automatic credit communities receive from fertilizer legislation, communities can also earn credit for individual properties with a written plan that uses these 10 core urban nutrient management practices

Erosion and sediment control includes a combination of practices that reduce sediment loss from active construction sites.  The Chesapeake Stormwater Network provides a variety of resources on Enhanced Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) practices, which are required to be employed at construction sites in all Bay states.  In July 2012, an expert panel was convened to review the available science on nutrient and sediment removal performance associated with ESC practices.

New and redevelopment practices capture and treat stormwater runoff through various physical and biological processes. Examples include wet ponds, bioretention, green roofs, and green streets.  Practices are installed on new development sites to hold pollution levels at pre-development conditions. Alternatively, they can be used at redevelopment sites to reduce pollutant loads below pre-development levels.  The Chesapeake Stormwater Network provides a variety of resources on practices for new and redevelopment projects.

Stormwater retrofits are a diverse group of practices that provide pollution reduction from existing development that is either currently untreated or is inadequately treated by an existing stormwater practice.  Retrofits work by temporarily capturing polluted runoff, reducing flow and improving water quality treatment through physical and biological processes.  Examples of retrofits include wet ponds, swales, permeable pavement, and bioretention.