About the program

We rely on Springfield’s waterways for natural resources, recreation, and relaxation. The health of these waterways impacts our property values, public health, and more. Springfield receives a lot of rain and one of the biggest threats to local bodies of water, including the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers, is urban runoff. Our stormwater is not cleaned at a treatment plant like our wastewater is. As water flows over rooftops, yards, streets, and other hard surfaces, pollutants wash in to storm drains and out to waterways.

The quality of our urban runoff depends, in part, on everyday choices made by you, your employees, and your customers. That’s why Springfield’s Stormwater Team created the Clean Water Business Certification Program.

The program educates business owners, managers, and employees about the relationship between their practices and their impacts on stormwater, local waterways, and local drinking water. We reduce stormwater pollution and improve water quality through voluntary implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs). Many Best Management Practices have little-to-no cost and are relatively simple. Examples include: employee education and training, hazardous materials management, outdoor storage, and washing and cleaning practices.

The goals of the program are to:

• Recognize businesses who take extra steps to protect water quality! We do this through a tiered approach to help businesses reduce waste and mitigate stormwater pollution.
• Increase owner and employee awareness of stormwater pollution.
• Provide tools and technical assistance businesses can use to prevent stormwater pollution.
• Where appropriate, provide materials businesses can offer to educate the public.
• Develop friendships between the Springfield’s Stormwater Team and local business.

The Clean Water Business Program recognizes those who take steps to protect stormwater and encourages them to continue to implement clean water practices by providing businesses with free technical assistance, educational materials, resource information, as well as recognition of participation. It helps businesses make easy, low cost changes to their practices, and provides recognition from the City for their efforts.

You model your values to your customers when you talk about your values as a business. When we choose clean stormwater and healthy waterways, we help secure our investments through community health and environmental health, which supports our property values. We inspire everyone help keep our waterways and groundwater healthy and clean.

The City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team is pleased to present our certified Clean Water Businesses. Each one provides a valuable service to our City by taking action to keep waterways clean.

Here’s how businesses get certified:

1. Schedule a site visit
   Contact the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team (Development and Public Works Department, in the Environmental Services Division) to schedule approximately a 60 minute site visit. During this visit we will work with your staff to complete a checklist, visit your facility’s storage and work areas, and prepare customized recommendations.
2. Review the Clean Water Business Checklist and Guide for your industry
   Prior to your appointment, download your industry-specific Checklist and Guide (below) to become acquainted with the standards.
3. Adopt the recommendations
   After the initial site visit, a program specialist provides you with a report outlining the steps needed to reach certification. As requirements are met in increments of 50%, 75% or 100% of your Checklist and Guide, contact your specialist to receive your certification.
4. Experience the benefits
   The City of Springfield will announce your accomplishments on this website and provides materials to help share the news with customers, employees, and friends. As well as receiving a free gift from the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team based on your company’s industry and certification level status.

Download your Checklist and Guide

Please select your industry to view and download your steps to becoming certified.

Three tiers of certification

Certification lasts 2 years

Your business gets two years to enjoy your status and talk about it with your clients and employees. A Stormwater Team member will contact you to refresh your certification when it’s time.

Why will a member from our stormwater team contact you? If your business moves, changes ownership, or fails to uphold certification standards, you may be asked to reapply. Additionally, if your business takes additional steps to reduce stormwater pollution and increase your certification tier, a Stormwater Team member will re-evaluate your status.

Contact us

We’re happy to answer your questions! Please call 541-726-3694 or email WaterResources@springfield-or.gov and ask about our Clean Water Business program.