JEFFERSON CITY, MO, Feb. 22, 2011 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has released a revised set of guidelines aimed at helping developers and contractors better manage stormwater runoff from construction sites and minimize erosion that contributes to water pollution.

This publication, Protecting Water Quality: A field guide to erosion, sediment and stormwater best management practices for development sites in Missouri and Kansas, is a guide to managing stormwater to aid in building a clean environment and vital community. The guide includes information on practices specifically useful in controlling erosion and polluted runoff during active construction projects.

The guide also explains the causes of stormwater pollution and its potential impact on community life. It gives contractors, planners, developers, government officials and the general public methods to coordinate best management practices and strategies to harmonize community efforts.

Updates in the revised version of the publication include state-of-the-practice design and technology, including designs with fewer or smaller detention basins and more rain garden type practices. The publication explores an emerging emphasis on environmental site design and illustrates several Midwest examples. The revised book now includes a construction site inspection checklist.

The revised Protecting Water Quality: A field guide to erosion, sediment and stormwater best management practices for development sites in Missouri and Kansas has been in development for more than a year and has undergone extensive review and comment.

The stormwater guide is available on the Department of Natural Resources' website at www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/wpcp-guide.htm. For more information, call the department's Water Protection Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-1300.

###