What is the difference between the County Watershed Program and Contra Costa Clean Water Program?
Both the Contra Costa Clean Water Program and the County Watershed Program (CWP) are tasked with ensuring compliance with the Municipal Stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The NPDES permit is issued to the Clean Water Program, which is a collaboration between the County (represented by the County Watershed Program), the 19 incorporated cities and towns in the County, and the County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (“Co-Permittees”.) The Clean Water Program (http://www.cccleanwater.org) has its own staff that interacts with regulatory and elected officials, and provides guidance to the Co-Permittees. The Co-Permittees benefit from these collaborative efforts which the individual jurisdictions time and money. Ultimately, however, each jurisdiction is individually responsible for administering the NPDES permit within the bounds of its jurisdiction. Operationally, the County Watershed Program is a program within the Flood Control Division
