A satellite image taken by NASA after heavy rain shows “a big brown stain of chocolate milk spewing from the Susquehanna River, in the far north, and spreading more than 50 miles south, past Annapolis,” writes Tom Pelton in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Bay Daily blog. “Similar smudges ooze down the Potomac and James rivers. It ain’t chocolate Wonka fans…”
There has been alot of talk about “green infrastructure” over the past couple of years–and communities all across the nation are slowly bmoving towards this more natural approach.
From USEPA:
Green infrastructure is an approach to wet weather management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Green Infrastructure management approaches and technologies infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrologies.
At the largest scale, the preservation and restoration of natural landscape features (such as forests, floodplains and wetlands) are critical components of green stormwater infrastructure. By protecting these ecologically sensitive areas, communities can improve water quality while providing wildlife habitat and opportunities for outdoor recreation.
On a smaller scale, green infrastructure practices include rain gardens, porous pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and landscape irrigation.
In Pennsylvania, these ideas are starting to take hold–and the Philadelphia Water Department is at the forefront of using green solutions to meet the challenges presented by rain. The Philadelphia Art Museum’s new Parking lot features a green roof and other landscape features to control runoff, and the Water Department has started phasing in a new parcel based fee structure that encourages landowners to manage runoff on their properties rather than shunt it to the nearest sewers. The Inquirer looks at the city’s plan in an article published today.
EPA’s Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure website is a great resource to learn more.
So are we: Stormwater PA is in the process of developing a series of video case studies that look at green infrastructure, so keep checking back; they’ll be available soon!
The American Society of Landscape Architects has joined with American Rivers, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other organizations to support congressional passage of the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2009. The Act would allow EPA to provide green infrastructure planning and development grants to states, municipalities and other qualified entities. Planning grants could be used to identify and develop standards for local zoning or other codes, and to identify fee structures for the design, installation and maintenance of green infrastructure projects. Implementation grants could be used for green infrastructure installation projects as well as for monitoring their environmental, economic, and social benefits. Finally, three Centers of Excellence for Green Infrastructure would be established across the country to provide technical assistance, and to conduct research on stormwater and sewer overflow reduction.
The recent issue of Landscape Architect News Digest talks about this effort. View the complete article here.
Did you know that the Philadelphia Water Department is an early adopter of green infrastructure–and has a number of exciting programs underway? Keep your eyes on StormwaterPA for information about Philly’s Clean Water — Green City program, including videos explaining the program, BMPs being used, and long term benefits that go far beyond protecting the city’s many rivers and streams.
Southeast Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts…
Post Construction Stormwater Management Workshop
March 26, 2010, Conference Center at Penn State, Great Valley.
Registration deadline March 19, 2010. See the agenda.
A recent article published by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay suggests that it is possible since proposed actions are backed up by regulations, funding and consequences.
The hope stems from two new initiatives the federal government is undertaking. One is the total maximum daily load, better known as a TMDL, which is being developed by the EPA this year and will set limits for how much pollution a waterway can accept from stormwater, sewage treatment plants, agricultural runoff and other sources. The other is a multi-agency response to President Barack Obama’s executive order, which declared the Bay a “national treasure” and called for a strategy to restore and protect the Bay, its watershed and resources-all while providing more public accountability than in the past.
You can find the full article written by Karl Blankenship online at the Bay Journal.
A new piece of legislation was introduced on December 3rd that would significantly help advance green infrastructure throughout the country. American Rivers worked with NRDC, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Low Impact Development Center, and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators to bring these issues to Rep. Edwards and co-sponsors Russ Carnahan and Steve Driehaus. Go to the American Rivers web site for more information, or go to the Library of Congress to read HR 4202, The Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2009 text.
