Caltrans Awards $5.25 Million Contract to Water Research Group

Sacramento State's Office of Water Programs has been awarded a new, $5.25 million, three-year contract by the California Department of Transportation to continue providing expertise in the evaluation and treatment of stormwater runoff from state highways, rest areas, park-and-ride lots, Caltrans maintenance yards and other Caltrans-operated facilities throughout the state. Work on the contract begins June 1.

The office's research group will identify pollutants found in stormwater runoff, test the performance of technologies for removing those pollutants, and study erosion control methods. The research group will design the scope of the studies, manage consultants hired to perform the studies, and evaluate study results. Students from the College of Engineering will assist with the study. The office's director Ramzi Mahmood and research group technical advisor John Johnston also serve on the Sacramento State faculty.

Under the new contract, the Office of Water Programs will continue the work it began for Caltrans four years ago under a separate $6 million contract, which ends in June.

The office, which operates through University Enterprises (formerly the CSUS Foundation), also provides services related to stormwater runoff to the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Integrated Waste Management Board and the El Dorado County Department of Transportation. The office's training group produces and sells training materials to the operators of municipal wastewater treatment plants.