SPANISH FORT, Ala. — A meeting to discuss how to best manage the area’s stormwater problem was held Thursday at the 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center on Battleship Parkway in Spanish Fort. Participants focused on the issues faced when heavy rains, such as those experienced this past weekend, fall along the coast. As noted by organizers, stormwater can cause flooding and damage homes, businesses, roads and infrastructure. Polluted stormwater is the No. 1 threat to the nation’s water quality, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the meeting was to share new ideas and strategies, identify what is working at the local level and how technologies can be transferred. “Stormwater is one of, if not the biggest, threats to our estuary’s health,” said Roberta Swann, director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, sponsoring organization of the forum. “(It brings) many pollutants to our estuaries and waters.” Lance LeFleur, director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Resources, said the coastal ecosystem is worth protecting. “Mobile Bay is a unique asset. It’s a unique asset for our nation, for our region, for our state,” he said. “Mobile Bay is the terminus of the fourth largest watershed in the nation in terms of volume of water that comes down here. It’s the sixth largest in the terms of the land area that’s drained by that watershed.” A watershed is an area of land drained by a particular body of water. Anything that is dumped or spilled in that land area eventually makes its way downstream, and flows into to the body of water for which it is named. LeFleur added, “It’s got ecological diversity that’s second to none in the nation — in this hemisphere. This is also an economic engine for the area.” He pointed to the seafood industry, the tourism industry and the Port of Alabama, located primarily along the Mobile River. Boating, swimming and other recreational pursuits are also worth protecting, LeFleur said. “It has a dramatic impact on the quality of life for the people down here,” he said. “Try to picture having this area without Mobile Bay. It’s more than we can comprehend.” Although the water quality of Mobile Bay has improved in recent years due to regulation and public awareness campaigns, LeFleur said more needs to be done. He said there is a major threat from uncontrolled stormwater, and he hopes that by working together before catastrophic rain events occur, the problem can be tackled on the local level. With that goal in mind, forum participants organized into three groups brainstormed ideas for financing, incentives and regulations relating to stormwater management during group sessions. Electronic polls were conducted during the process. According to Kathy Eddy of Mobile Bay NEP, the top three rated points the groups chose to focus on moving forward are: 1. Regionalization of regulations. As Nick Amberger, of the city of Mobile’s engineering office, said, “The raindrop knows no municipal boundary.” 2. More comprehensive education is needed from government to developers to homeowners. 3. Recognition that stormwater is a utility. There is cost associated with managing stormwater disposing of sewage and garbage. The points will be refined in future meetings, according to Eddy.