For many years the preferred approach to stormwater management has been to treat stormwater as a problem to be controlled-get that stormwater into drains and offsite as fast as possible.  After all, rain feeds the streams and we're just helping out by getting it there faster, right?  Slowly we are learned that we've been causing a lot of problems with this approach.

The water cycle, or hydrologic cycle, is the complex movement of all the water on our planet.  Water rises into the atmosphere through evaporation (the process of water changing from a liquid to a gas, typically due to increased temperatures) and transpiration (the water given off by plant's leaves as part of the photosynthesis process).  It falls to the ground again through the processes of condensation (the opposite process from evaporation) and precipitation (when the condensation falls back to earth).  In between the rise and fall of water vapor, it is held in the atmosphere and frequently travels a distance from its original location.  Once the water falls to the ground, some of it runs off into streams but much of it infiltrates into the ground.  The infiltrated water may emerge at another location as a spring or be drawn up by plant roots.  As springs flow down hill they create streams, which merge to create larger streams then rivers, eventually heading as far down hill as possible, where they end up in the ocean.  Water may be stored for a time as snow packs or glaciers, in lakes or oceans, or underground in aquifers, but it will eventually move on to a different part of the hydrologic cycle.  To see a nice diagram of the hydrologic cycle, as well as more detailed explanations of the various terms/phases involved, see the USGS' website.

As a site becomes more developed, it becomes less permeable-water isn't able to permeate into the ground.  Any rainfall that lands on buildings, parking lots, roads, sidewalks, or any of the other impermeable surfaces that make up our urban environments is not able to soak into the ground, but instead runs off.  This runoff is typically collected in drains that connect to storm sewer systems.  Most of the storm sewer systems in the US flow directly to streams and other bodies of water without any treatment to remove contaminants.  There are many problems with this system.  First, stormwater is not able to percolate into the ground and therefore isn't available to plants or able to recharge the groundwater aquifers.  There is a nice diagram here that compares the hydrologic cycle of urban and non-urban areas.  Second, the rainfall is rushed to streams which causes highly variable water flows in the stream leading to cycles of erosion-causing flooding followed by very low flows.  Third, faster moving water is able to carry more pollutants and sediment than slower water.  Seeing as the runoff comes from buildings, streets and parking lots, there are plenty of contaminants available.  (This is referred to as "nonpoint source pollution."  An outflow pipe from a factory would be an example of "point source pollution.")  Fourth, the runoff frequently flows over hot surfaces and warms up more than the stream water.  Warm water is able to hold less oxygen, causing problems for many fish and other stream dwellers.

So what can the average person do to remedy the situation?  First, reduce the amount of pollution you create.  Keep your car tuned up so it doesn't drip oil and take it to a car wash, where the wash water is treated.  If you really prefer to wash it yourself, wash it on the lawn where the water has a chance to soak into the ground.  Most definitely don't dump your used motor oil down a storm drain.  Pick up after your dog.  (Yes, I know dog poop is natural, but if large quantities are swept from the curb and into a stream it can be a big problem.)  If you feel the need to fertilize your yard, be sure to follow the directions and only put down as much fertilizer as the plants can use.  If you use pesticides and herbicides, do so sparingly and again follow the directions.

There are two general ways to manage runoff more effectively.  The first is to collect it in a holding tank of some sort.  An example of this would be to connect your roof downspout to a rain barrel.  A large scale example of this would be a retention basin created as part of  land development.  Rain barrels can be very useful because you can use the water at a later point to water plants.  However, the typical rain barrel holds about 55 gallons and it doesn't take much rainfall to fill it up.  Linking multiple barrels together gives you more storage capacity but remember, a full rain barrel that overflows during a storm isn't helping control runoff at all.

The second general concept for runoff management is to slow it down.  Slowing the water down allows it to permeate into the ground when it flows over an appropriate surface.  Slower moving water also will carry fewer contaminates and soil particles.  It also means that the stormwater will flow into a creek at a lower volume over a longer period of time, causing less erosion and less dramatic changes in the stream volume.  A nice hydrograph that illustrates the difference in streamflow after a storm, between a largely impermeable site versus a more natural site, can be found here.  (To return to the article that the image comes from, click the link at the top of the webpage.)  I also saw a nice hands-on illustration of this concept at a museum once.  It involved a marble, a smooth ramp, and a ramp with lots of pegs.  On the smooth ramp, the marble (raindrop) easily and quickly made it to the bottom (stream).  On the pegged ramp, it took much longer and occasionally even was stopped before reaching the bottom.

The typical way to slow runoff is to reduce impermeable surfaces.  For example, instead of creating your new patio by pouring a concrete slab, use brick set in a gravel bed or even non-compacted decorative gravel.  Vegetated roofs, or green roofs, are a wonderful way of counteracting many of the environmental impacts of buildings.  Their benefits extend beyond stormwater management and include noise control, insulation, habitat, and mitigating the urban heat island effect.  Green roofs are a large topic and are a good subject for a later article.  The Green Roofs for Healthy Cities website is a good place to start exploring the topic and a web search will return lots of sources, as well, if you are looking for more information now. 

It is also worth mentioning that lawns are fairly impermeable.  Turf grass has a very short root system and lawns become easily compacted.  A very nice diagram of different perennials' root systems compared to that of turf grass can be found here.  After looking at this diagram, you can easily see how more water will infiltrate into a meadow than a lawn.  It is especially important to have a planted buffer against a stream bank instead of having lawn right up to the edge.  In addition to improving infiltration, the longer roots also do a better job of stabilizing the bank.

There are also several methods that combine the techniques of both slowing and holding the stormwater.  For example, you might set up your rain barrel to feed a soaker hose-the collected water will slowly drain out of the barrel over the next day or so.  Rain gardens are another good technique for managing stormwater that utilize both the slow and retain methods.  Typically a rain garden is designed to hold the rainfall from a one inch storm.  If the storm drops greater than an inch of rain, the extra will overflow.  For a more detailed discussion of rain gardens, see my article in the July/August '07 issue of Yoga Bean Magazine.

Reduce impervious surfaces, replace lawn with planted beds, set up rain barrels, create rain gardens, install green roofs, disconnect downspouts from storm sewer  Hopefully, I've given you a few ideas to try at home.  Let's get rainwater to infiltrate and recharge our aquifers and create healthier streams.  Treat it as the valuable resource it is instead of something to be disposed of.  Remember, every little action helps.

Happy gardening!

Bryn Richard is a licensed landscape architect with a strong interest in sustainable design.  She can be reached at Bryn@BlueTrillium.net and welcomes your questions and suggestions for further articles.

Omega-3 fatty acids are fatty acids that are found naturally in oily fish, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils and when eaten in certain quantities can provide remarkable health benefits to the body. Omega-3 acids are in the category of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are better for you to eat than saturated fatty acids. The three most important omega-3 fatty acids are Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). People are often curious about how these acids were named. Well, way back in ancient chemistry times, organic chemists gave Omega-3 fatty acids their name because of the location of their first carbon double bond which is at the 3rd position in the molecule.  Doesn't really sound important to us but to an organic chemist it was a big deal.

Why are Omega-3 fatty acids important?

Omega-3 fatty acids are important not only because of the health benefits they offer but because our bodies cannot make such fatty acids such as ALA, ALA is considered an essential fatty acid because of this.  DHA and EPA can be made in the human body from ALA but, according to various scientists, apparently not in sufficient quantities. So we as humans need to be sure that we eat enough omega-3 fatty acids every day.

Among the many benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids, an important one appears to be a blood pressure lowering effect. A study released in mid 2007 revealed that those persons who had a higher than average daily intake of Omega-3 fatty acids lowered their blood pressure more than those persons who consumed less Omega-3 fatty acids. In this study it didn't matter if the source of the Omega-3's were fish or vegetable sources, the results were the same.

However, the most remarkable health benefit of Omega-3's to date is their ability to lower adverse cardiovascular events. In medicine we call an "adverse cardiovascular event" something that happens to your arteries in your heart or brain that is bad, like a heart attack or stroke. In fact, Omega-3's work so well in reducing adverse cardiac events that the American Heart Association has endorsed their use for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. This is the first time that the American Heart Association has recommended any nutritional supplement for secondary coronary artery disease prevention.

There have been numerous studies that support the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids for cardiovascular help. These studies focused on the fatty acids DHA and EPA because these acids were proven to be much more beneficial versus ALA when it comes to adverse cardiovascular events. However, one of the most important studies was one that involved 32,000 people. Half of these people received Omega-3 fatty acid supplements the other half did not.  The group that received the Omega-3 supplements had up to a 45% reduction in adverse cardiac events such as stroke and heart attack. A 45% reduction!!! In medicine this is very important information.

Another area of benefit is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Studies have revealed that persons with RA that took Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil supplements had a significant decrease in the number of painful joints on physical exam.

How do Omega-3 fatty acids accomplish these benefits?

Most researchers believe that these benefits are a direct result of the Omega-3 fatty acids ability to lower total cholesterol, triglycerides and other bad cholesterols such as LDL. Additionally, it is believed that Omega-3 fatty acids have the ability to reduce inflammation, whether it be in joints or arteries of the brain or heart.

What are the recommendations for intake of Omega-3 fatty acids?

250-500 mg/day for persons without coronary artery disease

1 gram/day         for persons with diagnosed coronary artery disease(CAD)

3-4 grams/day    for persons with diagnosed high triglycerides

You can accomplish this by eating oily fish such as herring, salmon, sardines, oysters, trout, or tuna. Two 3 oz. servings per week of these fish will provide you with 400 to 500 mg/day of Omega-3. This is adequate for prevention in persons who do not have CAD. If you don't like fish or you might be allergic to seafood, you can take Omega-3 supplements that can be purchased at a pharmacy or health food store.

If you are a person who has CAD, then you will either need to consume twice as much of the above fish per week (two six oz. servings per week) or take Omega-3 supplements equivalent to two six oz. servings of fish per week, which would be about 1 gram per day. 

 The following is a list of fish/shell fish that are a very good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. The list begins with the fish that contains a good amount of Omega-3's to the fish that contains the greatest amount of Omega-3's per 3 oz. serving.

Albacore tuna< rainbow trout< sockeye salmon<oysters< Atlantic salmon<Pacific sardines< Chinook salmon <Pacific herring.

 What about supplements?

The most common over-the-counter Omega-3 fatty acid capsule (from fish oil)  that claims a content of 1 gram of Omega-3 actually contains less then 1 gram. The recommendation is two of these over the counter capsules per day for prevention in those persons not diagnosed with CAD. Four capsules per day for those persons who are diagnosed with CAD and six to seven capsules per day for those with high triglycerides (greater than 500mg/dl).

Omega-3 is also available as a liquid supplement. One teaspoon of this supposedly tasteless liquid provides about 1.3 grams of Omega-3. One teaspoon taken four times per week provides about 500mg/day of Omega-3, this is enough for prevention of adverse cardiovascular events.

For all of you out there that may be skeptical of the quality of Omega-3 supplements, there is an FDA approved Omega-3 supplement that is available by prescription. This product is called "Lovaza" and contains one gram of Omega-3 as DHA and EPA. . This product is recommended for those people with high triglyceride levels but can also be used as a supplement at one capsule per day for primary cardiovascular prevention or two capsules per day for people already diagnosed with CAD.If your doctor prescribes this medicine then your insurance company may pay for it, otherwise it is approximately 50.00 per month if you take one capsule per day for prevention.

Omega-3 supplements can be taken anytime but are best absorbed during meals. If you are taking four to six capsules per day, it is suggested that a person not take the entire supplement dose at once. It should be divided into two or three doses for best absorption in the intestine. There is currently no evidence that Omega-3 supplements interfere with any prescription medicine. Nor is there any evidence that ingesting too much Omega-3 is bad for you unless you are on blood thinners.

The take home message for Omega-3 fatty acids is that they can prevent your arteries from being clogged or inflamed, which can result in a remarkably LOWER incidence of heart attack and/or stroke. Before undertaking this literature review, I myself, did not realize the high level of cardiovascular protective benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. I am now a firm believer and because I like oily fish such as salmon, tuna and trout, I plan on continuing to include generous portions of these fish in my weekly diet.

Many people shy away from cooking fish because of the myth that it's hard to prepare. This is not always true and shouldn't prevent a person from preparing fish. In the next issue of the magazine I will try to dispel that myth by including a quick and easy recipe for preparing trout. (a fish high in Omega-3)

Until next time, fly low and avoid the radar!