We have curated several informative and entertaining news stories from the stormwater industry, as well as a few other items of interest. We appreciate you taking the time to read our ezine and hope that you find this stormwater related information as interesting and informative as we do.
Until next month, please work safe and stay well.
Sincerely,
The Greenrise Technologies Staff
How Floating Wetlands Are Helping to Clean Up Urban Waters
Yale .edu
In three Boston-area watersheds, a new regulation under the Clean Water Act will require certain commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with one or more acres of impervious surface to reduce nutrient and bacterial pollution in stormwater running off their properties, something never mandated before. Britain recently announced a requirement for homes and water companies to reduce water pollution. Floating wetlands that do that are already growing in London, and plans for other locations are in the works. Regulations like these could compel cities to take a more aggressive approach to green stormwater infrastructure. “As that begins to happen,” says Rome, “the role that can be played by floating treatment wetlands is going to come into focus.” The growing use of the buoyant, lush gardens — in cities that range from Australia to Europe to North America — show how even small wetland islands can make a difference
New research shows three distinct attitudes toward improving stormwater management
Phys .org
Researchers from University of Maryland (UMD) have surveyed a variety of stakeholders and found that everyone agrees that the old centralized way of managing stormwater should change, but their attitudes about how and who is responsible fall into three divergent camps. Two groups felt that stormwater posed a public threat but disagreed about who was responsible for mitigation programs on private lands. The third group saw stormwater as an underutilized resource that should be managed with technology. The study was published October 26 in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.
Help save salmon from the dangers of stormwater
Seattle Times
The deadliest toxin found in stormwater is one only recently identified after decades of research. Known to scientists as 6PPD quinone, it’s a chemical compound that prevents tires from cracking and breaking down. It seeps into water from tire dust that washes off roads and parking lots, and can render a coho salmon lifeless in just a few hours of exposure. When the rain cleans the streets, the fish returning home perish. The next generation snuffed out in less than 24 hours.
If You Don’t Already Live in a Sponge City, You Will Soon
Wired
Any good city planner knows the value of green spaces, but traditionally these have been used mainly for public enjoyment. Sponge city designers also use them as a tool for managing increasingly furious rainstorms. An inch of rain dumped over the course of an hour is more likely to overwhelm stormwater infrastructure than the same inch of water falling over 24 hours—a problem for places like in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where storms have gotten significantly wetter over the past half century. “The long and short of it is: more intense and more frequent,” says Tony Igwe, senior group manager of stormwater at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which is sponge-ifying the city. “There’s a lot of work going on not just in Pittsburgh, but especially in the mid-Atlantic, to really look at those numbers in the next few years.”
Projects are scored by the Endeavor Water Group editors on the merits of complexity of work; impact to community; size and scale; challenges overcome during design, construction and commissioning; stakeholder coordination and involvement; collaboration during construction; and innovative processes and/or equipment. Entries qualified so long as it was in the design or construction phase in the last 18 months. Nominations are open throughout the year, and engineers, consultants and contractors are encouraged to submit their best projects for the program.
The Power of Healing – Green Roofs and Healing Gardens
Tending to the psychological needs of patients has understated economic benefits. Research results demonstrate that poor design and lack of exposure to nature inhibit recovery rates and blood pressure stabilization, exacerbate anxiety and increase administration of pain medications. Increases in stress in both patients and nursing staff arise when there is high responsibility (the responsibility of recovering, and the responsibility of patient well-being, respectively) and low control (inability to alter surroundings and the inability to take a break, respectively). Studies in horticulture therapy and healing gardens for patients have directly credited these activities with reducing patient and staff stress, reducing patient medication use, and increasing staff satisfaction (Sadler et al., 2008). There are many factors that influence and trigger stress, but the built environment can act as a stress reliever for outside stresses, as well as independently trigger positive physiological reactions. Thus, a biophilic built environment can provide positive distractions, and positive distractions promote well-being by evoking positive feelings that hold attention away from bothersome thoughts.
MYTH: Water is plentiful.
BUSTED: Although 70 percent of the earth is made of water, only 3 percent of the water is drinkable, while 97 percent is saltwater or otherwise undrinkable.
MYTH: The average person does not use that much water.
BUSTED: The average American uses 80 to 100 gallons of water per day.
MYTH: Dishwashers waste more water than hand washing.
BUSTED: An automatic dishwasher uses 4 to 6 gallons of water, whereas hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons of water.
MYTH: Taking a bath uses less water than taking a shower.
BUSTED: A full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.
MYTH: Rain barrels and other stormwater structures are a common breeding ground for mosquitoes.
BUSTED: Although mosquitoes have been documented to breed in rain barrels, they are unlikely to be able to access rain barrels set up correctly. Rain barrels should have screens installed on the entrance pipes that funnel stormwater from gutters into these collection containers. Be sure that these screens are also narrow enough to block mosquitoes from flying in. Emptying the rain barrel within three days of a rain event can also ensure mosquitoes cannot successfully breed in the structure. Problematic rain barrels tend to be those that are poorly maintained – well cared-for barrels present no habitat for mosquitoes.
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