stormwater management

Nov 23, 2016

Down by the Riverside

Delaware River, PCB contamination, stormwater management 4 Comments

by Tom Damm

One of the ways I intend to work off my Thanksgiving excess is to bike along the Delaware River.

Washington Crossing Historic Park

If it’s like the past few weekends, I’ll be carefully riding by families, couples and individuals enjoying nature on a crisp fall day beside one of the nation’s most iconic waterbodies.

On these riverside jaunts, I’ve been able to take in a little history at Washington Crossing Historic Park and window shop in New Hope, Pennsylvania, swigging from a reusable bottle filled with water that originated in the Delaware itself. I’ve seen hearty kayakers navigating river rapids and bird watchers scanning the skies.

My neighbors have finally packed away their jet skis, but they had been out on the Delaware regularly this fall, riding the waves with wetsuits protecting them against the chilly river waters.

There are a host of recreational opportunities along the Delaware. They’re not just great fun, they’re big business. In fact, a University of Delaware professor estimated that recreation provides $1.2 billion in annual economic activity in the Delaware Basin.

That’s one of the reasons EPA and fellow federal, state and interstate agencies are working with non-profit groups, utilities and others to build on efforts to restore the Delaware River and counter threats from stormwater, wastewater, PCBs and other forms of pollution.

So if you’re feeling the weight of the holidays, take a stroll or a bike ride along a stream or river near you. It may not fully compensate for that piece of pie, but it will give you some peace of mind.

About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.

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Sep 15, 2016

Think and Link Green

green infrastructure, green jobs, Green Streets, stormwater management 2 Comments

by Jeanna Henry

Have you heard the term “green street” and wondered what gives it that special designation? Is your community interested in green technologies and sustainable practices? If so, a new EPA website can help.

Launched last month, the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) website has information for community leaders, residents and professional service providers on the benefits of green streets in improving local waters, neighborhoods and job prospects.

Green streets have proven especially popular here in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region – from small towns like Etna, Pennsylvania, to big cities like Baltimore, Maryland. The region’s Office of State and Watershed Partnerships created the national website to highlight green streets as an effective way to manage stormwater runoff.

The G3 website includes general information on how to plan, design, build and maintain green streets, photographs of green streets and a video on ways communities can reduce stormwater runoff and increase economic vitality through the use of green infrastructure practices. Green streets can also help mitigate the impacts of climate change by controlling flooding, reducing heat from hard surfaces and saving energy.

The website identifies potential funding opportunities, such as the G3 Grant Program, Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and Urban Waters Small Grants.

EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resource, have awarded more than 90 G3 grants over the past six years, resulting in nearly $18 million in green projects and the construction of more than eight collective miles of green streets.

A number of those projects are featured in the G3 grants section of the website.

Check them out and see how your community can benefit from a green street.

About the author: Jeanna Henry joined EPA in 2000 as an Environmental Scientist. She currently works in the Water Protection Division focusing on stormwater management through the use of Green Infrastructure. Jeanna loves nothing more than spending time outdoors with family and friends hiking, kayaking or spending a day at the beach.

May 20, 2016

This Week in EPA Science

air pollution research, Bike to Work Day, climate change adaptation, computational toxicology, EPA Science to Achieve Results, Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship, national wetland condition assessment, stormwater management 0 Comments

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

It’s Bike to Work Day! Did you ride your bike to work? Way to go! Now you can sit back, relax, and catch up on the latest in EPA science.

And if you didn’t bike to work—that’s okay, I didn’t either. But you can still enjoy the Recap.

Supporting Undergraduate Research
For more than 30 years, EPA has been supporting and encouraging undergraduates in environmental-related fields through the Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship program. EPA just announced that GRO fellowships were awarded to 34 students who are majoring in environmental science, engineering, mathematics, and technology all across the nation. Read more about the fellowships in the blog GROing Above and Beyond.

Chemical Safety Research
EPA researchers are using new technology to improve computational exposure science, which helps create a more complete picture of how and in what amounts chemicals enter our bodies. Learn more about this research in the Science Matters article Improved Methods for Estimating Chemical Exposure.

Science to Achieve Results
Do you want to study how air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease? Then check out our latest Science to Achieve Results funding opportunity. You can learn more by looking at the Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution and Development of Cardiovascular Disease research grants page.

National Wetland Condition Assessment
This month EPA released the National Wetland Condition Assessment, a collaborative survey of our Nation’s wetlands. The survey examined the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of wetlands through a set of commonly used and widely accepted indicators. Learn more about the assessment here.

Stormwater Management in Response to Climate Change Impact
EPA and NOAA have led workshops and other community efforts across the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes regions to discuss how projected land use and climate change could impact local water conditions. This week EPA released a final report containing findings from these workshops. Read more in the report Stormwater Management in Response to Climate Change Impacts: Lessons from the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes Regions.

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a student contractor and writer working with the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She is a regular contributor to It All Starts with Science and the founding writer of “The Research Recap.”

May 28, 2015

More than Tunnel Vision

combined sewer overflows, green infrastructure, stormwater management 0 Comments

by Jennie Saxe

Green roof at Ft. Reno reservoir

A few months ago, we blogged about the massive engineering project to construct tunnels beneath the District of Columbia using giant tunnel boring machines. These tunnels are being constructed to hold onto stormwater and reduce combined sewer overflows, which can result in harmful bacteria in the District’s waterways.

“Gray” solutions, like tunnels and treatment plant upgrades, are not the only part of the District’s plans. Last week, EPA officially gave the green light to DC Water’s plans to add a significant amount of green infrastructure to the mix to protect the Potomac and Rock Creek watersheds. Fittingly, this announcement was made atop the green roof at DC Water’s Ft. Reno reservoir. Using green with gray provides stormwater management capacity while creating a healthier urban environment. In addition, the implementation of these green infrastructure projects will result in water quality benefits during the installation process. This is very different from grey infrastructure where the benefit is only realized at completion of construction.

To follow the progress of the Clean Rivers project, check out DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project website, or follow the tunnel boring machines – Nannie, Lady Bird, and Lucy – on Twitter.

About the author: Dr. Jennie Saxe joined EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region in 2003 and works in the Water Protection Division on sustainability programs.

Jun 19, 2014

Wetlands: Earth’s Kidneys

Around the Water Cooler, nitrogen, Nutrients, oxbow, phosphorous, stormwater management, watershed management, wetlands 2 Comments

By Marguerite Huber

Stream restoration research

Our organs are vital to our health, with each one playing a significant part. Kidneys, for instance, filter our blood to remove waste and fluid. Wetlands are often referred to as “Earth’s kidneys” because they provide the same functions, absorbing wastes such as nitrogen and phosphorous. When excess amounts of these substances—nutrient loading—flow into waterways it can mean harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, and summer fish kills.

Recognizing the importance of wetlands, many communities are taking steps to protect, restore, and even create wetlands.

For example, many stream restoration projects include constructing wetlands to absorb stormwater runoff and absorb excess nutrients and other pollutants that flow in from a host of sources across the watershed (known collectively as nonpoint source pollutants).

These constructed wetlands can provide key elements to urban stormwater management because they help reduce the impacts of runoff after a rainstorm or big snowmelt event. Such runoff typically transports high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous and suspended solids from road surfaces into waterways.

One such type of wetland that may provide these kinds of benefits is the oxbow lake, so named because of their curved shape. These form naturally when a wide bend in a stream gets cut off from the main channel, but EPA researchers are taking advantage of a couple of oxbow wetlands created during stream restoration activities at Minebank Run, an urban stream in Baltimore County, MD.

The researchers are studying the oxbow wetlands to quantify how effective such artificially created wetlands are at absorbing nitrogen and phosphorous in an urban setting. If these types of wetlands are effective, then deliberately constructing oxbow wetlands could be an important nutrient management strategy in such landscapes.

From May 2008 through June 2009, the researchers analyzed water, nitrate (a form of nitrogen pollution), and phosphate flow during four storms to better understand the impacts of hydrology on the potential for the two oxbow wetlands and the adjacent restored streambed to absorb or release nutrients.

The results suggest that oxbow wetlands in urban watersheds have the potential to be “sinks” that absorb and store nitrogen. They also reinforced information pointing to the dynamic hydrologic connection linking water and nutrient flow between streams and nearby oxbow wetlands, findings that if confirmed through further investigation can be used to improve restoration efforts that improve water quality across entire watersheds.

When it comes to phosphorus, the researchers found that oxbows don’t function as “sinks,” but “sources,” that contribute a net increase of the nutrient. They hypothesize that this is because the nutrient is released from wetland sediments during storms or other similar events. Future studies are needed to investigate the magnitude of phosphorous release, and how important that contribution is across the watershed.

Just like how our kidneys are an essential aspect of the human body, wetlands are an important aspect of nature. Retaining additional nutrients and treating non-point source pollutants help give natural and constructed wetlands the affectionate nickname of “Earth’s Kidneys.”

About the Author: Marguerite Huber is a Student Contractor with EPA’s Science Communications Team.

Mar 7, 2014

EPA Releases Resource to Help Guide Green Infrastructure

Around the Water Cooler, combined sewer overflows, cso, drinking water, EPA Water Research, Green Infrastructure, municipal sewers, Runoff, Safe and Sustainable Water, stormwater management 1 Comment

By Lahne Mattas-Curry

Rain barrel captures roof runoff in Santa Monica, CA. (Copyright Abby Hall, US EPA)

Imagine you are a municipal sewer system operator in an urban area. You probably would be well aware of the millions of gallons of untreated water that enter your combined sewer systems creating a big old mess in your local water bodies. But what if there was a cost effective solution available? And even better than low-cost, what if the solution made your community pretty and created a great community for people to live, work and play? You would jump on it, right?

Well, many communities with combined sewer overflows have been using green infrastructure – rain barrels, rain gardens, greenways, green roofs etc. – as an attractive way to reduce the stormwater runoff that goes into a sewer system. (We have blogged about it many times before.) Green infrastructure helps reduce capital costs – traditional grey infrastructure made of pipes and other systems is often cost prohibitive – and has been shown to also reduce operational costs at publicly owned treatment works.

EPA scientists helped develop a resource guide to help more communities manage stormwater and wastewater with green infrastructure. The resource, released “Greening CSO Plans: Planning and Modeling Green Infrastructure for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control (pdf),” will help communities make cost-effective decisions to maximize water quality benefits. The resource explains how to use modeling tools such as EPA’s Stormwater Management Model to optimize different combinations of green and grey infrastructure to reduce both sewer overflow volume and total number of overflow events. The guide also has relevant case studies to showcase how different communities are using green infrastructure.

Hopefully using this resource can help you plan green infrastructure solutions and provide a variety of tools that can help you measure and reduce stormwater runoff.

For more information about green infrastructure at EPA, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm

You can also learn more about green infrastructure research and science here:

http://www2.epa.gov/water-research/green-infrastructure-research

About the author: Lahne Mattas-Curry works with EPA’s Safe and Sustainable Water Resources team, drinks a lot of water and communicates water research to anyone who will listen.