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Click HERE for more information on Water Watch Weeks Events.
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| Volume V, Issue 25 | June 13, 2011 |
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Missed an issue of Ozark Waters?
Visit the Ozarks Water Watch website to find archives of all our newsletters.
www.ozarkswaterwatch.org
Want to join a Watershed Group? Click on the site you want to join...
Table Rock Lake Water Quality
http://www.trlwq.org
James River Basin Partnership
http://www.jamesriverbasin.com
Kings River Watershed
http://www.kingsriverwatershed.
org/about_us.html
Illinois River Watershed Ptshp
http://www.irwp.org/
Elk River Watershed
http://www.erwia.org/
Friends of the North Fork and White River
www.friendsoftherivers.org
Save the Illinois River
www.illinoisriver.org
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Upcoming Events:
Water Watch Week
June 11 - 21
see all events by clicking
HERE
Water Quality Summit
Fri. June 17th
Drury University
9 am - 3 pm
Registration Required
$10 includes lunch
Canoe for Clean Water
Race, Float & Festival
Sat. June 25, 2011
for more info:
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Reduce Stormwater Runoff; Prevent Pollution
David Casaletto
I just stumbled across a LID project just starting in San Francisco, CA. It is a joint project between the City of San Francisco and the U.S. EPA to transform the 1700 block of Newcomb Avenue into one of the most "green" streets in San Francisco. And in that city, that is saying something! The PROJECT DESCRIPTION states:
The Newcomb Model Block Project is an innovative synthesis of community stewardship, agency collaboration, public realm enhancement, and environmental benefit in one of San Francisco's
 | | Street side stormwater planters. |
most environmentally challenged neighborhoods. The new features will provide a repeating series of green areas integrally connected to the overall streetscape design. Significant areas for stormwater management, permeable surfaces, and a robust canopy of street trees along both block frontages will also be added. The enhancements will beautify the block, create gathering places for residents, and transform a barren strip of concrete into an urban oasis that functions with, instead of against, the natural functions of the landscape.
The Low Impact Development (LID) features are designed to:
· Reduce volume and peak flow of Stormwater · Provide biofiltration · Reduce contribution to the city's combined sewer system
Key Elements of the project are:
· Signed, neighborhood commitment for maintenance · Receiving stormwater planters o Reduce volume and peak flow of stormwater o Increased greening and landscaping o Community stewardship o Located on corners and along length of the block · Permeable concrete and pavers o Reduce volume and peak flow of stormwater o Visually narrow roadway to provide traffic calming benefits · Corner gateways and curb extensions w/ raised pedestrian crossings · Street trees and landscaping · Chicanes for traffic calming o I must admit, I had to look up the word "chicanes": a part of a road, especially a track for race cars, with a bend shaped like the letter "S"  | | Project layout showing chicanes and parking. |
So I can hear some of you out there asking, what does this project in San Francisco - by the way did I mention the total project cost is $1,502,421 - this expensive project in San Francisco have to do with our problems and concerns here in the Upper White River Basin? I have become convinced that LID is one of the most important tools we now have to battle pollution from storm water runoff, not just in San Francisco, not just in larger cities like Springfield, MO or Fayetteville, AR, but everywhere. It works for homes, businesses, cities, everyone. But it will require a complete change in our traditional way of thinking. Our engineers have been trained to design a system that channels stormwater away from a site as quickly as possible using ditches and pipes. This stormwater carries with it all the pollution; bacteria, oils, chemicals; directly to our water bodies.
With LID we can keep that stormwater onsite and let it soak into the soil and be cleansed naturally. It will also reduce flooding due to the increase in impervious surfaces. I realize that at a price tag
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of $1.5 million for one city block, we cannot afford to retrofit our existing infrastructure overnight. But what we must do is use LID on every new project, change our laws and ordinances to embrace LID, make LID the norm not the exception just for demonstration projects.
This Friday, June 17th, I will be speaking on LID at the Water Quality Summit in Springfield, MO on the campus of Drury University. Other speakers include the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Sara Parker Pauley, a speaker from the USGS, and Table Rock Lake Water Quality Executive Director Gopala Borchelt. You can CLICK HERE to sign up for this event. Registration is only $10 and that includes lunch! |
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Quote of the Week
The health of our waters is the principle measure of how we live on the land.
-Luna Leopold
Current News Articles
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Groundbreaking Monday for Doling waterway work
News-Leader.com, June 9, 2011
The city will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for waterway improvements at Doling Park.
The $1.3 million project "will improve safety, water quality and aesthetics, while focusing on sustainability and environmental protection of the historic park," the city said in a news release. To read more...
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110609/NEWS01/110609029/1002/SPORTS/?odyssey=nav%7Chead
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Homeowners question repeated flooding of Lake Taneycomo The Missourian, June 11, 2011 SPRINGFIELD - As homeowners repair damage caused by flooding on Lake Taneycomo, some are asking how a lake that had not flooded significantly since the construction of Table Rock Dam in the late 1950s could inundate their homes three times in three years. "What's different?" asked Mike Long, who said he had to gut his home, where water got four and a half feet high. ...Gopala Borchelt, executive director of Table Rock Lake Water Quality Inc., said development can make a surprising amount of difference. More... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/06/11/homeowners-repair-damage-caused-lake-flooding/ |
Colorful, songful seasonal birds flock back to Missouri state parks Columbia Daily Tribune, June 12, 2011 Missouri parks can be noisy places in late spring and early summer, especially around daybreak. Some of North America's most colorful birds, and best singers, have returned from their winter homes south of the border and are marking territories and advertising for mates. You'll often hear them before you see them and will need binoculars to spot them in the treetops and underbrush. But the thrill of the search can be rewarding. For pictures and more... http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/jun/12/the-songs-of-summer/?pulse |
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Contact Info
OZARKS WATER WATCH MISSOURI OFFICE ARKANSAS OFFICE
David Casaletto, President PO Box 606, 2 Kissee Ave. 1200 W. Walnut, Ste. 3405
(417) 739-4100 Kimberling City, MO 65686 Rogers, AR 72756
contact@ozarkswaterwatch.org |
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