An integral part of making the City of Del Mar a beautiful place to live, work and visit, the Clean Water Program is an element of the Planning / Community Development Department. The Program is committed to ensuring city-wide compliance with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Regional Municipal Stormwater Permit.
The Clean Water Program’s primary goal is to protect our most visible and valuable natural resources - our lagoons, and the Pacific Ocean - from the degradation caused by pollution in urban runoff. To accomplish this, the Clean Water Manager works with staff from the various City Departments; representatives from community and environmental groups; and staff from other jurisdictions in San Diego County to ensure that the requirements of the Municipal Permit are met through proper education/training, water quality monitoring and assessment, auditing, facility inspections, planning and reporting, and enforcement activities. If necessary, the Clean Water Manager issues Notices of Violations to obtain compliance with appropriate ordinance, and may issue infraction citation Notices to Appear.
If you see any of the following, please immediately notify the City at 858-755-9313:
- Building materials or dirt coming off the property of construction sites;
- Power washing or mobile detailing operations whose run-off is flowing into the storm drain system;
- Landscape crews using hoses to wash down driveways or gutters into the street; or
- Restaurants washing their mats or equipment and allowing the runoff to flow into the streets or alleyways.
You may also use the Citizen Complaint Form found on the City website and we will have an inspector on the site as soon as possible. This form can also be used to report any other potential impacts to water quality as well.
For other environmental concerns, please contact the public hotline at 1-888-846-0800 24-hours a day or the City Public Works Department during normal business hours at 858-755-3294 to report your concern.
Mission
We take pride in providing our customers with personal attention, accurate and consistent information, and creative, timely solutions to complex community development issues.
We will guide our customers through the Planning process in a manner that instills public trust and confidence.
"Only Rain in the Storm Drain"