By Julia Hillegass

Public Information & Community Affairs Administrator

On a cold and blustery day at Waterman’s Hall on the campus of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester, the Virginia Water Monitoring Council recently hosted a workshop, Enhance Your MS4 Program: Outreach and Monitoring Strategies for Local Governments. This one-day workshop was designed for individuals who work with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) and provided ideas to enhance the outreach and monitoring components of their MS4 programs.  Over 80 people attended the workshop to learn new ways of improving their stormwater programs.

• Of note were presentations by Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) staffers, Jenny Tribo and Julia Hillegass.  The full agenda included:
• Keynote Address – Progress from Across the State – David A. Johnson, Director, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
• Flow Measurements, Chemistries and Volunteers – Chris French, Virginia Director, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
• Benthic Macroinvertebrates and MS4 – Bill Shanabruch, Regional Biologist, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Volunteer Monitoring: From a Local Government Perspective – Suzanne Dyba, Volunteer Trainer, James City County
• Monitoring for TMDLs – Jennifer Tribo, Senior Water Resources Planner, HRPDC
• Rivanna Regional Stormwater Education Partnership – Martin Johnson, Urban Conservation Specialist, Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District 
• Panel Discussion: Social Marketing and MS4s – Gary Waugh, Public Relations Manager, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; Julia B. Hillegass, Public Information & Community Affairs Administrator, HRPDC; Lorne Field, Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Chesterfield County
• Elizabeth River Project Engagement Strategies – Joe Rieger, Director of Watershed Planning, Elizabeth River Project

 
The workshop was hosted by the Virginia Water Monitoring Council in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Clean Virginia Waterways, an affiliate of Longwood University; and the Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech.

Photo of Jenny Tribo during her presentation.