For Immediate Release
March 8, 2003

Contact: Mike Woolson, Watershed Education Coordinator - (757) 253-6823
E-Mail Mike

(James City County) - Staff from the James City County Environmental Division today unveiled a new interactive web site project designed to make it easy for interested residents to check on the "health" of hundreds of BMPs (Best Management Practices) throughout the county.

The PRIDE BMP Ratings Report is an interactive tool available on the Environmental Division’s watershed education website at www.protectedwithpride.org.

"Currently, James City County has more than 400 stormwater management facilities or BMPs," says Darryl Cook, Environmental Division Director. "Unfortunately the vast majority of them are in need of attention. We hope citizens will use this Ratings Report as a way to take PRIDE in our watershed and track their community’s progress."

Stormwater management/BMP practices are used to delay, capture, store, treat, filter or infiltrate stormwater runoff as a tool for watershed protection. Maintenance of BMPs is the responsibility of homeowner’s associations or landowners. The PRIDE BMP Ratings Report is a compilation of surveys of BMPs in James City County conducted regularly per state and federal requirements. BMPs are rated on a scale of 1-5.

Rating Description	Status
1	Serious Condition	Immediate ned for repair or alteration. Routine, Non-Routineor Emergency maintenance activities requires. Requires immediate action.
2	Degraded Condition	Needs Improvement. Routine maintenance required and Non-Routine maintenance actvities required.
3	Adequate Condition	Adequately maintained Facility. Acceptable structural and stormwater management control function. Routine Maintenance activities imminent.
4	Good Condition	Well-Maintained Facility. No Routine Maintenance activities required. Routine Maintenance activities appear performed on a regular basis.
5	Excellent Condition	Newly Constructed or Very-Well Maintained Facility. No type of Routine Maintenance activities ore currently required.

Neighborhoods can earn a PRIDE watershed designation by enhancing or improving their BMP facility beyond it’s current design level of service or by exceeding County standards for BMP maintenance beyond normal maintenance obligations. Residents who find their neighborhood stormwater management/BMP is not up to standard are urged contact the appropriate homeowners association or BMP landowner.

The goal of the PRIDE watershed education program is to improve water quality in James City County by teaching residents about the importance of watershed protection while providing residents and neighborhoods with specific watershed restoration and protection tools. For more information, contact PRIDE at 757-253-6823.