Escambia County is hosting two workshops Wednesday, Aug. 24 and Thursday, Aug. 25 to cover topics including mixed-use development, low impact design and an overview of Florida’s stormwater treatment program. Each workshop is offered twice. There is no charge for attending, and pre-registration is not required. The workshops will take place at the Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place in Pensacola.

Workshop participants should bring a laptop computer to the afternoon session. Participants should also download the BMPTRAINS software prior to the conference by clicking here.

A total of six continuing education credits will be offered through the University of Central Florida through the LID workshops. In order to obtain the credits, participants will need to: 1) attend both a morning and afternoon session, 2) bring their laptop with BMPTRAINS installed and 3) bring a check for $25 made payable to UCF Continuing Education.

Low impact design is a site design approach that utilizes Green Infrastructure to meet a project’s post-development stormwater runoff water quality requirements. The workshops and the county’s low impact design manual for development were a result of recommendations made by the Stormwater Advisory Team. Escambia County, in conjunction with the city of Pensacola, established SWAT in 2014 as part of a goal to reform the county’s stormwater policy after the historic 2014 April Floods. The LID manual and workshops were made possible through a Section 319 Grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Who should attend?

The LID workshops are open to the public, but are especially recommended for:

• Architects
• Engineers
• Environmental professionals
• Planners
• Developers
• Contractors
• Anyone interested in the application of low impact design principles in Escambia County

Session I – LID Overview Workshop is scheduled for:

• Wednesday, Aug. 24, 8:30 a.m. to noon or
• Thursday, August 25, 8:30 a.m. to noon

LID Overview Workshop Objectives – To ensure that participants have a good understanding of:

• Florida’s water resource management program framework
• Florida’s stormwater program legal and technical framework
• The principles of Low Impact Design and LID BMPs
• How improved site planning and using LID BMPs can increase development flexibility, environmental benefits, and cost benefits.
• The design criteria, stormwater treatment mechanisms, construction and operation/maintenance of the LID BMPs in the Escambia County LID Manual.
• How LID BMPs have been used successfully locally and in Florida
• How the BMPTRAINS Model can be used to evaluate the costs and treatment effectiveness of LID BMPs use in BMP Treatment Trains.

Session II – LID Case Study Design Workshop is scheduled for:

• Wednesday, Aug. 24, 1-4:30 p.m. or
• Thursday, Aug. 25, 1-4:30 p.m.

LID Case Study Design Workshop Objectives – To ensure that participants have a good understanding of:

• The design and construction of LID BMPs.
• The advantages and disadvantages of conventional BMPs and LID BMPs.
• The use of the BMPTRAINS model.
• The costs and treatment effectiveness of conventional BMPs and LID BMPs using the BMPTRAINS model.

For more information, contact Brent Wipf, Environmental Programs Manager at 850-595-3445 or bawipf@myescambia.com.