Nathan Lacy, a second-year MURP student, received the American Planning Association - Orange Section (OC-APA) Academic Award of Merit for his capstone project, a professional report titled, “Stormwater Design as a Guiding Principle: an exploration of stormwater infrastructure performance in Orange County.” He was honored at the OC-APA’s annual awards event, held on May 30, 2019 in Orange.
In Southern California, cities and agencies are striving to build stormwater infrastructure to detain and treat urban runoff. Nathan’s professional report research for his client, Orange County Public Works, provides recommendations on regulatory compliance regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Clean Water Act, in addition to suggestions for reducing stormwater flow volumes or pollutant loads. The work will benefit the client in evaluating best practice and design for their systems, and is generalizable for use by other environmentalists and planners in improving stormwater and watershed management.
Nathan shared the following comment on the experience:
The professional report was an amazing way to explore an important topic of interest to me, stormwater management practices. I was able to combine my favorite parts of urban planning and environmental science to evaluate a specific project for Orange County Public Works.
Congratulations, Nathan!