Illicit discharge investigation tracking for MS4 programs.

Field screening, source tracing, property contact, and elimination on one thread per incident. Outfall timelines build naturally over the years, so the next investigation on the same outfall starts with the history right next to it.

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01 · What investigation tracking means

The investigation is a thread, not a folder.

An illicit discharge investigation runs across several days, weeks, or sometimes months. A field screening visit. A second visit upstream. A property contact. A re-inspection. A closure note. Each step adds evidence. Each step also has its own date, observer, and photos. The work goes badly when those steps get scattered across an inbox, a spreadsheet, and a folder.

NPDESTracker holds the whole investigation on a single thread per incident. Every field check, sample reading, photo, source-tracing step, property contact, and corrective action attaches to the same record. The thread is the answer to "what did the program do about this incident" without anyone reconstructing it later.

02 · Field screening

The observations that decide whether this becomes a case.

Field screening is where a possible illicit discharge becomes an investigation, or gets ruled out. A petroleum sheen at an outfall during a dry-weather visit. A soapy sheen behind a car wash. Sediment-heavy flow at an inlet near a construction site. The visual and indicator-panel evidence captured at the visit shapes everything that follows.

Common screening evidence

Dry weather screening at scheduled outfalls, with field readings captured at the point of observation
Visual screening for sheen, color, foam, sediment, or unusual odor at outfalls and inlets
Indicator panel readings: pH, conductivity, ammonia, surfactants, where the program runs them
Sample collection notes when conditions call for laboratory confirmation
Photographs of the discharge point, the flow path, and any visible source clues

03 · Source tracing

The steps from outfall to source, in order.

Source tracing is investigative work. The inspector walks the catchment upstream from the observation, opens inlets, looks for flow paths, and documents what they see at each suspected source. A property owner gets contacted. A floor drain is investigated. A car wash is asked about its wash-water disposal. Every step has a date, an observer, and a piece of evidence.

Typical investigation steps

Record what was observed at the outfall, with field readings attached to the incident
Pin the location on the map so the upstream catchment is visible at a glance
Walk upstream and document each suspected source, with photos at each step
Make contact with the property where conditions suggest a likely source
Capture the corrective action the property agreed to, or the basis for an enforcement referral
Verify with a follow-up visit and record the elimination or resolution

04 · Outfall timeline

History at the outfall, not in someone's head.

Outfalls accumulate history. The next investigation that lands on the same outfall benefits from knowing what happened the last time. NPDESTracker keeps an outfall timeline that lists every screening visit, every incident, and every closure note that has ever touched that outfall. A new inspector starting an investigation can read the timeline before walking out the door.

The same is true for properties. A repeat source, a known issue at a specific facility, or a previously closed case all sit on the property record, attached to the incidents they came from.

05 · Feeds MCM 3 reporting

Investigations become the MCM 3 narrative.

Counts of complaints received, investigations conducted, illicit discharges identified, and illicit discharges eliminated come from the underlying records, not from a number a coordinator types in. Outfall screening counts roll up alongside. The full annual reporting story is on the reporting page.

Inside the annual report workspace, Smart Draft is an assistive drafting feature that pulls from the linked investigation records to help start a narrative answer. A coordinator reads the draft, confirms the totals, edits anything that needs judgment, and saves the final language. Smart Draft does not invent counts and does not replace staff review.

NPDESTracker does not submit annual reports to any state or federal agency. The submission step stays with the human at the agency, on the agency's submission channel.

06 · Honest scope

What this does, and what it does not do.

NPDESTracker is a record-keeping workspace for investigations. It is not an emergency dispatch system, a 24/7 response platform, or a public-safety hotline. It does not page on-call staff and it does not carry legal enforcement authority on its own.

Enforcement decisions stay with the program. NPDESTracker holds the records of notices of violation, compliance orders, and resolutions, but the decision to issue, the legal authority to act, and the agency response stay with the program. NPDESTracker does not promise compliance, and it does not certify investigation results.

See the investigation thread on sample data.

The demo is browse-only with sample records. The Founder Pilot runs it on your own program for 90 days.

Try the demo Or read about the Founder Pilot