Re: [GreenYes] A Little Off-Topic

[Cindy Shea <cpshea@earthlink.net>]

Hi Chris,

Keeping the stormwater on site is the best way to keep oils, pesticides,
fertilizers etc out of lakes and creeks. Berms and swales and vegetated buffers
are tested methods that make sense everywhere from commercial to residential to
parking lots. The detention ponds popular in the past are starting to lose favor
unless they can be turned into recreational amenities in the middle of a park,
or are used to expand habitat, or are a component of a larger constructed
wetland system.

At UNC Chapel Hill, where we've got 5.9 million square feet of new construction
planned over the next ten years, we've pledged not to increase the volume, rate,
or pollutant load of our stormwater runoff. And we've pledged that for each of
the five watersheds on campus. Pervious surfaces and water storage techniques
hold the key. We're currently planning three green roofs, two on buildings and
one on a parking garage. (I've gathered lots of resources on the subject if
you're interested in knowing more.) We're testing pervious pavement in parking
lots. And if we can do it here with our slow to drain clay soil, anybody can.
We're partially daylighting a couple of buried streams that now flow in pipes.
We're building a water storage area under an athletic field. And we're looking
into cisterns.

Slowing the rate at which stormwater runs off into surface water bodies is
essential to reducing pollution. Median strips, vegetated buffers, green roofs,
reconstructed wetlands, cisterns, anything that stores water will help.

Good luck,
Cindy Pollock Shea
Sustainability Coordinator
UNC Chapel Hill

Chris Cloutier wrote:

> I am working with four neighborhood groups to develop a non-profit that will
> work to improve and protect the water quality in two urban lakes and one
> creek. I am looking for urban stormwater management methods that are: 1)
> tested and proven; 2) developing and increasing in practice; and, 3)
> experimental and need to be tested.
>
> Any direction would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Chris
>
> Chris Cloutier
> e4 partners, inc.
> 2801 21st Ave S
> Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407
> 612.278.7140
> 612.278.7141 (f)
> www.e4partners.com
>
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