Project Grant 84098201

DESCRIPTION:THE CENTER FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION (CWP) WILL DEVELOP, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN A NATIONAL STORMWATER MANAGER'S CLEARINGHOUSE. THE CLEARINGHOUSE WILL SERVE AS A NATIONAL SOURCE OF INFORMATION RELATED TO NEW AND EMERGING STORMWATER CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES AND WILL BE POPULATED WITH RESOURCES PRODUCED BY REGIONAL STORMWATER CENTERS, CWP, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE CLEARINGHOUSE WILL CONTAIN ARTICLES, REPORTS, TECHNICAL STANDARDS, TOOLS, CASE STUDIES, MODEL ORDINANCES, AND OTHER TECHNICAL RESOURCES AS WELL AS TRAINING AND OUTREACH MATERIALS ON STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND WILL BE SEARCHABLE BY KEYWORD, CATEGORY, RESOURCE TYPE, GEOGRAPHIC AREA, AUTHOR, AND DATE. THIS PROJECT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN A STEPWISE PROCESS THAT INCLUDES CLEARINGHOUSE PLANNING AND DESIGN, CLEARINGHOUSE TESTING AND LAUNCH BY THE END OF YEAR 1, AND LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE TO ADD NEW RESOURCES OVER TIME. THE CLEARINGHOUSE WILL BE PROMOTED WIDELY THROUGH A COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN THAT INCLUDES OUTREACH TO CWP'S EXTENSIVE NATIONAL CONTACTS THROUGH EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITES, NEWSLETTERS, LISTSERVS, PRESENTATIONS AT WEBCAST AND CONFERENCES, AND PARTNERING WITH EPA, STATE AGENCIES, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS TO PROMOTE THE CLEARINGHOUSE TO THEIR CONTACTS WITH THE GOAL OF REACHING ALL TYPES OF COMMUNITIES. THE OUTPUTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE, AWARENESS OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE, AND INCREASED MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON NEW AND EMERGING STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME IS INCREASED PUBLIC ACCESS TO STORMWATER INFORMATION, VISITORS TO THE CLEARINGHOUSE, AND INCREASED AWARENESS OF NEW AND EMERGING STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES. ACTIVITIES:CLEARINGHOUSE PLANNING AND DESIGN: CWP CURRENTLY MAINTAINS BOTH AN ORGANIZATIONAL WEBSITE AND THE ONLINE WATERSHED LIBRARY (OWL), A SEARCHABLE ONLINE DATABASE OF WATERSHED INFORMATION CONTAINING MORE THAN 1,900 PUBLICATIONS. TO IMPROVE THE LOOK AND FUNCTIONALITY OF BOTH THE WEBSITE AND OWL, CWP IS IN THE PLANNING STAGES OF AN UPDATE, WHICH INCLUDES SELECTING AN ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE THAT WILL BE USED TO BETTER INTEGRATE CWP'S MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM WITH OTHER FUNCTIONS SUCH AS EVENTS MANAGEMENT, FINANCIALS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND ECOMMERCE AND COMES WITH A MOBILE-FRIENDLY WEBSITE PLATFORM. THE NEW WEBSITE WILL INCORPORATE A NEW CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, SLATED TO REPLACE THE OUTDATED SYSTEM CURRENTLY USED FOR OWL. THIS NEW INFRASTRUCTURE AIMS TO SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE FUNCTIONALITY AND USER EXPERIENCE AND WILL SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL STORMWATER MANAGER'S CLEARINGHOUSE HOSTED BY CWP. CWP WILL REVIEW THE EPA'S EXISTING CLEARINGHOUSES AND THE CURRENT CONTENT ON OWL AND HOST A VIRTUAL MEETING WITH EPA AND THE LEADS OF THE REGIONAL STORMWATER CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE TO DISCUSS PROPOSED CONTENT FOR THE NATIONAL STORMWATER MANAGER'S CLEARINGHOUSE. AT THIS MEETING, CWP WILL ALSO LEAD A DISCUSSION OF THE PROCESS BY WHICH STORMWATER CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE LEADS WILL PROVIDE RESOURCES TO CWP FOR POPULATING THE CLEARINGHOUSE, THE SCHEDULE FOR QUARTERLY MEETINGS, AND ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO POPULATE THE CLEARINGHOUSE. OWL WAS DEVELOPED TO BE A TIME-SAVER FOR WATERSHED AND STORMWATER PRACTITIONERS AS IT PROVIDES USERS READY ACCESS TO A WELL-ORGANIZED DATABASE OF RELEVANT AND UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON WATERSHED AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. CLEARINGHOUSE LAUNCH: AFTER FINALIZING THE DRAFT PLAN FOR THE CLEARINGHOUSE, CWP WILL FOLLOW THE DEFINED PROCESS TO CREATE AND LAUNCH THE NATIONAL STORMWATER MANAGER'S CLEARINGHOUSE. THE BASIC STEPS ARE TO GATHER EXISTING MATERIALS FOR INCLUSION ON THE CLEARINGHOUSE, WORK WITH THE SELECTED CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROVIDER TO TRANSFER OVER THE OWL DATABASE TO THE NEW SYSTEM AND ADD NEW RESOURCES, DESIGN A GRAPHICALLY-PLEASING AND USER-FRIENDLY LANDING PAGE, BETA TEST THE CLEA