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Copy and Paste This Permanent Link:http://www.stormh2o.com/september-2008/outreach-education-bmp.aspx

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Credit: City of Santa Monica

Ft. Wright Sanitation District (SD) No. 1 serves 33 communities in the northern Kentucky counties of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Its 220 employees not only walk the walk in applying best management practices (BMPs), but also encourage members of the public to do some walking, right through their Public Service Park.

Dedicated to public servants whose work benefits all northern Kentucky residents, this attractive 18-acre park opened in 2004 on part of SD No. 1’s property. There, visitors can see different low-impact development (LID) strategies at work and understand their effectiveness at stopping stormwater pollution.

SD No. 1’s original plan called only for a green roof on the addition to the administration building. However, the governing board and management team decided to think about stormwater in a broader context. Their project evolved into a system of linked BMPs that allows visitors to trace a drop of water from its landing on the green roof until it falls into the Banklick Creek.

The 3,600-square-foot extensive green roof includes chives, sedum, and ornamental grasses. The building also has a 3,600-square-foot section of conventional roof for comparative monitoring purposes. Runoff from both roofs is piped to the facility’s stormwater laboratory for analysis year round.

Visitors see permeable pavers, permeable asphalt, a biofiltration swale in the parking area, and a cistern. Other stormwater management features of the park include permeable concrete pavement, a retention pond, an oil/water separator in the rear parking lot, and a dry detention basin.

The magnet for visitors is the wetland, which is, of course, a natural water-treatment facility. Migratory songbirds, waterfowl, and other animals are attracted to the wetland, and a variety of plants grow there. Along the park’s trails is an urban forest with various native species of trees.

The park clearly meets the public education requirement of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II permit. School children and Scout troops—more than 2,000 annually—visit for structured field trips. Young visitors play scientist as they follow water to the wetland, along a Native American Creek Trail, and across porous pavement.

Field trip activities include performing water testing, comparing the regular roof and the green roof, using an interactive watershed model, and finding out how Native Americans lived in balance with the environment. The park’s Journey of Drop of Water interactive exhibit won the National Association for Clean Water Agencies’ 2005 National Environmental Achievement Award.

Peggy Casey, SD No. 1’s director of public relations, says, “The best part about the student field trips is that many of them bring their parents back to the park at the end of the day to share what they have learned.”

Casey notes that groups from the Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, the Philippines, and China have toured the park. Many civic groups make appointments for organized tours, but visitors can stop by any time from 8:00 a.m. until dusk, seven days a week.

As its Web site explains, the employees of SD No. 1 wanted to serve “as a regional example of storm water best management practices.”

Casey adds that by allowing northern Kentucky residents “to see real-world applications of innovative stormwater-control techniques, we hoped to stimulate a more widespread use of these best management practices—and it is working!”

Casey cites several examples of LID measures that came after the park’s opening. Permeable asphalt was installed at two Park and Ride locations owned by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky. Porous concrete now covers parking lots in Edgewood and at the Boone County Farmers’ Market. Crestview Hills Town Center installed a biofiltration swale, and rain gardens will be added at St. Elizabeth Medical Center’s new facility.

Rain Gardens in Wisconsin
Another community with stormwater professionals who walk the walk is Superior, WI. The rain garden project on the grounds of its water treatment plant was inspired by an employee who told Bonita Martin about a couple of troublesome areas. Downspouts sent rain right next to one building’s foundation. “Erosion and washouts made the lawn surface difficult or impossible to mow and turned the area into an eyesore,” Martin recalls.

Martin, a research assistant for the wastewater treatment plant from 2000 to 2005, “learned about rain gardens as a stormwater best management practice through trainings, seminars, and research,” she says. She had toured gardens in Madison and had researched others, including rooftop technologies.

Martin’s job then involved seeking grants for various wastewater and stormwater projects. Brainstorming with Diane Thompson, Superior’s stormwater technical coordinator, on grants and possible projects, Martin felt strongly that “we ought to be practicing what we’re preaching.”

She put that idea into her grant proposal, albeit “a bit more eloquently,” she notes. The proposal said the city wanted “to improve the management of stormwater at the wastewater treatment plant, which will demonstrate good internal housekeeping practices before we expect our customers to invest in similar behavior.”

Martin also told the Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion Sediment Control that the city of Superior hoped “to demonstrate the viability of rain gardens as a stormwater best management practice in northwest Wisconsin soils and climate.”

Martin’s grant application on behalf of Superior’s wastewater treatment plant was submitted in January 2003. The resulting funds allowed the first two (of five) rain gardens to be planted in late summer of 2003. Rain barrels were installed to direct the roof runoff into the gardens.

The LID project was a clear demonstration of city employees walking the walk with public education and involvement. Schoolchildren and community residents learned about stormwater and helped with the planting of native plants in the gardens. All of the rain gardens are named; one is called “Neighborhood Nook” in honor of the community volunteers who planted it.

Battling Dry-Weather Runoff
Unlike Superior, Santa Monica, CA, doesn’t use rain gardens. It averages only 12 inches of rain per year, on about 20 days scattered over a few months. Santa Monica’s urban runoff problems are often due to incorrect or unwise use of water by the public (pool draining, irrigation, spills, car washing), rather than to Mother Nature’s efforts.

“Infiltration pits are very common. We are pushing the use of cisterns for rainwater as a more sustainable solution,” says Neal Shapiro, the city’s urban runoff coordinator. He notes that Santa Monica’s new main public library has a 200,000-gallon cistern underneath it.

Photo: City of Santa Monica

A sediment-removing baffle box in Santa Monica, CA

Bioswales are another LID strategy in use on city property in Santa Monica. Many residential streets have permeable pavement for porous gutters. Porous asphalt was used in city parks.

“We do allow and have used porous concrete for gutters, driveways, alleys, and parking lots, both private and public projects,” Shapiro says.

Santa Monica has made sure that its municipal employees walk the walk on stormwater, first through extensive training. Shapiro conducts runoff-training sessions for about 150 employees annually. The employees also provide feedback on runoff management in their areas, which has resulted in significant improvements to overall stormwater management.

The main reason for controlling dry- and wet-weather runoff is to protect Santa Monica’s beaches and to reduce pollution in the Santa Monica Bay. Through signs, brochures, and other publicity efforts, the city makes a conscious effort to remind the public where runoff, the main source of pollution in the bay, eventually winds up.

One example of the municipal use of LID strategies in Santa Monica is the Westside Water Quality Improvement Project, which opened in the fall of 2006. This project, which operates only on gravity flow, thereby saving energy, harvests dry- and wet-weather runoff from the Sawtelle Channel. This area encompasses the eastern portion of Santa Monica (220 acres) and parts of west Los Angeles (2,280 acres). The WWQIP can handle dry-weather runoff up to 3 cubic feet per second (cfs) and stormwater runoff up to 33 cfs in a 24-hour period.

The Montana Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard Sub-Watershed Runoff Quality Improvement Projects opened in spring 2007 and early 2008. They treat runoff from the north central portions of the city and also employ LID techniques.

Photo: City of Santa Monica

A downstream weir, part of the Westside project

Except for access covers, the systems are underground, and parts of the projects are under the famed Palisades Park. After treatment, the runoff flows to the Santa Monica Bay, but without many of the heavy metals, organic chemicals, oil, and other pollutants.

Santa Monica has what must be one of the most unusual stormwater treatment facilities in the country, the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility, known as SMURRF. The facility treats an average of 350,000 gallons of dry-weather urban runoff per day for reuse. It can handle as much as 500,000 gallons of water per day. About half of the dry-weather flows originate in Los Angeles, which is a partner for the project.

At first glance, the SMURRF looks like the setting for an outdoor art exhibit or example of modern architecture, with its concrete cylinders and angular walls. Described as a blend of technology, art, and education, the completely functional water-treatment facility was completed in 2000. The SMURRF cost approximately $12 million, including the distribution system for recycled water.

A location near the lively Santa Monica Pier and a design that is attentive to artistic and architectural detail have made the SMURRF attractive to the public—both tourists and residents. It’s an eye-catching type of installation that makes a child or adult ask, “What is that?” and then hurry over for a closer inspection.

Runoff water from Santa Monica’s two main storm drains, Pico-Kenter and Pier (covering 4,200 and 900 acres, respectively), is diverted into the SMURRF. Visitors to the site can see all of the equipment and processes as the runoff is cleaned. Their understanding of each stage of the treatment was obviously considered in the design of the facility.

Visitors move through the site via an elevated walkway. At several points, the system is “daylighted,” exposing the moving water to the open air so that visitors clearly see the cleaning process. Equipment is arranged in sequential order and oriented toward viewers. Each piece of equipment stands out because of a prominent base, dramatic lighting, or colorful tile work.

The SMURRF employs coarse and fine screening to remove trash and debris; dissolved air flotation to remove oil and grease; degritting systems to remove sand and grit; microfiltration to remove turbidity; and ultraviolet radiation to kill pathogens.

A photomural at the site shows trees that had to be removed from the site to accommodate the new water-treatment facility. This artwork also relates to Santa Monica’s reputation for good urban forestry.

Information displays at the top and bottom of the walkway provide more information to the public. They explain the SMURRF facility, the Santa Monica urban watershed, and the actions citizens can take to decrease pollution in urban runoff.

Water treated by the SMURRF meets all of California’s Title 22 requirements. It is used for landscape irrigation and in buildings that have dual plumbing systems. Some of the water irrigates municipal landscaping along the Santa Monica Freeway and in city parks. One dual plumbing user of water treated by the SMURRF is the Santa Monica Public Safety building.

During rain events, the SMURRF shuts down. Stormwater runoff is discharged to the Santa Monica Bay. It would not have been economically feasible to build the SMURRF to treat the extremely high volume of stormwater generated during rain events.

The EPA’s Web site says of the SMURRF, “In addition to providing a valuable alternative source of water for Southern California residents, the project is a showcase of how a public facility can be used to educate the public and enhance community pride.”

Driving the reduction of stormwater runoff into the Santa Monica Bay is city ordinance 7.10.050. This law requires all new developments and substantial remodeling projects, municipal and private, to prepare an urban runoff mitigation plan. Each development must do everything possible to increase permeable surface and reduce runoff that is directed to impermeable areas.

A development’s urban runoff mitigation plan, to be submitted when it first applies for planning approval, must show that the first 3/4 inch of rainfall in a 24-hour period will be infiltrated or treated. One or more of these elements has to be implemented:

• Incorporate structural BMPs that prevent stormwater pollution, such as oil/water separators, catch basin inserts, sand filters, detention basins, ponds, dry wells, and porous pavement.
• Design timing and application methods of irrigation systems to minimize the runoff of excess water.
• Achieve long-term soil stabilization by permanent growth of native vegetation, including native grasses, trees, shrubs, vines, and other ground covers.

Setting National Examples
Besides the thousands of municipal and private employees walking the walk to encourage the public to join them, federal and national organizations are using LID strategies to lessen stormwater runoff.

While many municipalities have been installing LID measures to demonstrate to the EPA their compliance with NPDES requirements, the EPA has been walking the walk, too. EPA’s Region 8 (which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) has set a fine example with its new headquarters building in the lower downtown historic district of Denver.

A 20,000-square-foot, three-level green roof was installed atop the LEED-certified building in September 2006.

This extensive green roof features native grasses, perennials, and groundcovers. It will not only help to lessen the heat-island effect on the surrounding urban environment, but also reduce stormwater runoff by an estimated 26%.

Photo: Fort Wright Sanitation

Ft. Wright Sanitation District No. 1’s 18-acre Public Service Park, located in Kentucky

Another national organization has set an example of LID use, reinforcing the work its members have done around the country. In 2006, the American Society of Landscape Architects replaced the existing roof on its Washington, DC, headquarters with a green roof that is divided into extensive and intensive sections.

ASLA’s board of directors wanted to install the green roof and measure its benefits because landscape architects around the country are becoming more and more involved with green roof projects.

From July 2006 to May 2007, the new 3,300-square-foot green roof kept 27,500 gallons of stormwater from flowing into the city’s overburdened stormwater system. This amount is about 75% of all of the precipitation that fell on the roof. Water runoff was less polluted than typical roof runoff.

Nancy Somerville, ASLA’s CEO and executive vice president, says, “The findings show that our green roof delivered significant economic and environmental benefits.” Looking to the future, Somerville notes, “Collectively, green roofs can save billions of dollars in urban infrastructure costs, which is why more and more cities are encouraging them through tax and other incentives.”

Municipal and federal employees and landscape architects aren’t the only stormwater professionals who feel it’s important to walk the walk. When AquaShield, the manufacturer of stormwater treatment systems, built a new facility in Chattanooga, TN, the company viewed the new building as an opportunity to show its commitment to protecting the environment.

Chattanooga’s normal rainfall is 54 inches annually. When construction started on AquaShield’s new facility in 2007, Chattanooga had a 14-inch rainfall deficit for the year. AquaShield’s executives decided to include a system for rainwater harvesting, one large enough to store the equivalent of a 100-year storm event. They would use the water for some building operations and for landscape irrigation.

Modular polypropylene stormwater tanks were installed. Eric Rominger, AquaShield’s general manager, says that the company “went well beyond what regulations called for and jumped at the chance to demonstrate firsthand how sustainable-design elements could be included in a practical manner.”

If a traditional detention pond had been selected, it probably would have limited future building expansion possibilities. But by storing stormwater underground, the company can keep its options open for future use of its land.

Tennessee summers can be very hot. The parking area of the new headquarters is made with turf cells to reduce the heat island effect of traditional paving and, of course, reduce stormwater runoff. AquaShield’s new building also incorporates other sustainable design features.

Even organizations that don’t work directly with stormwater treatment have realized the importance of walking the walk with regard to it. In Massachusetts, the Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) held a grand opening for its new facility in 2007. Members of the public are welcomed to come onto the property to walk, watch birds, go canoeing, and participate in other outdoor activities.

Visitors to the IRWA headquarters along the river can see a rain garden, a native plant garden, permeable concrete paving, and a 200-gallon storage tank with pump to harvest rainwater and use it conveniently. It wasn’t economically feasible to reinforce the existing roof on the main building, so plans for a green roof had to be cancelled. A compromise was to put the green roof on a new entryway.

Some stormwater professionals go beyond walking the walk on the job and at their work sites. H. David Gabbard, senior engineer with the Lexington, KY, Fayette Urban County Government, installed a rain garden in his own front yard.

So did Kay Barnes, who was mayor of Kansas City, MO, when the city began its 10,000 Rain Gardens project in 2005. The former mayor’s rain garden inspired many others at homes in Kansas City, including that of Dan McCarthy, CEO of Black and Veatch. A global engineering and construction company, which specializes in water and energy work, Black and Veatch also installed the first corporate rain garden at its Kansas City headquarters.

McCarthy believes so strongly in setting an example for his employees and fellow citizens that in 2006, he wrote an editorial that was published in the Kansas City Star. “The rain gardens initiative hits our sweet spots, the two things we really care about—water quality and our home town,” McCarthy wrote as he challenged other local corporations to plant their own rain gardens and get their employees involved with the program.

Tom Liptan is a landscape architect who works on stormwater projects for the Portland, OR, Bureau of Environmental Services. Dealing with the runoff from Portland’s copious rains made him aware of the need to keep looking for solutions to the problem. One day, he noticed an attractive label on a bottle of dishwashing liquid his wife had brought from Belgium.

Liptan read the label and learned that the Belgian company had a large green roof on its manufacturing facility. Liptan dialed the company’s phone number on the label and asked about the green roof. The more he learned, the more determined he was to install one at home as a research project.

In 1996, Liptan installed a green roof above the flat roof of his 10- by 18-foot garage. After bracing the garage to support the extra weight, he added inexpensive plastic sheeting and dug up some soil from his backyard. He planted sedums. As the years passed, birds and the wind added seeds of wildflowers and native grasses, which grew into the roof. Liptan did not irrigate or add fertilizer to his simple extensive roof.

The first storm, bringing about 0.4 inch of rain, dropped about 40 gallons of rainwater onto the roof. Only 3 gallons flowed into Liptan’s 55-gallon collection drum. Liptan knew then that while heavier storms would bring more runoff, his green roof was an effective example of an LID strategy that was worth repeating.

Talking the talk to the public about stormwater and pollution is easy. Walking the walk, as these stormwater professionals have done, takes more effort. But it’s the best way to persuade more citizens to understand how important it is to manage stormwater and keep water clean for all of us.