Hosts, Oakland County Water Commissioner Jim Nash and Great Lakes Storm water Management Institute founding Director, Professor Don Carpenter, in conjunction with Pure Oakland Water, held the first regional storm water summit on October 4th at the Lawrence Technological University (LTU). Stakeholders involved in storm water management and planning were invited, including elected officials, government staff, industry leaders, watershed councils, and environmental activists. After a warm introduction by LTU President Dr. Vrindir Moudgil, Commissioner Jim Nash provided a sobering look at Lake Erie from space, showing pervasive growth of algae blooms in many parts of the lake. Commissioner Nash sounded an alarm noting the problems caused by storm water runoff and combined sewer overflows are so monumental in the Great Lakes Region, they can only be solved by the region tackling these problems together. Mr. Nash stated our region was once noted as the “Arsenal of Democracy” in the 20th century and could become the “Arsenal of Sustainability” in the 21st Century.
Triple Bottom Line Benefits of Green Infrastructure
The keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Smullen, Sr. VP at CDM Smith, provided many insights on his experiences of integrating green storm water infrastructure planning and projects on a watershed scale. Dr. Smullen oversaw the development of the Green City in Philadelphia and the first long term CSO Control Plan (Clean Water Program) in the US which relied entirely upon green storm water infrastructure.
While controlling storm water and combined sewer overflows has traditionally been about choosing between heavy infrastructure projects, it’s now become a Triple Bottom Line benefit to place a variety of green storm water infrastructure in strategic locations closer to the source. The example provided was the Green Plan of Philadelphia which intends to change 43% of the city’s impervious surfaces to pervious surface over the next 25 years. Dr. Smullen ended his discussion with some very exciting projects happening around the country and specifically noted a design build finance operate and maintain (DBFOM) project in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
Cutting Edge Solutions for Handling Storm Water Regionally
With a full day of speakers and lunchtime learning alternatives to choose from, attendees had a plethora of choices on learning and networking on a variety of storm water topics. Local experts introduced a variety of topics to eager participants, including: New State Permitting Applications, SEMCOG initiatives, Implementing Green Infrastructure Solutions Along the Rouge River Watershed, new Storm water Utility Funding Approaches, including Storm Water, Asset Management and Wastewater (SAW) Program Funding and Climate Change Coming to the Great Lakes. Professor Don Carpenter also spoke about a number of green infrastructure alternatives for storm water management implemented at the LTU campus. These measures have transformed the campus using Best Management Practices (bmp) into a living laboratory learning center for others to emulate cutting edge storm water solutions for their projects or developments. Some of the many green infrastructure solutions in place at LTU included green roofs, bioswales, water cisterns and porous pavement. Many enjoyed walking the campus on a beautiful Friday afternoon to look and learn more about the green storm water infrastructure solutions in place.
In addition to all the expert discussions surrounding green storm water infrastructure developments in the built environment, there were a number of vendors supporting the summit which provide additional solutions in making storm water infrastructure more sustainable, including: Clinton River Watershed Council, Criptonic Energy Solutions, Doetsch Environmental Services, EAU3 Distributing Cleaning Systems, Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, Inc., FKE, Wade Trim, DLZ, Frc & h, D’Angelo Brothers, ARCADIS, OHM, Applied Science, Environmental Consulting & Technology, TETRA TECH, NTH Consultants, Ltd., Pipeline Management Company and the summit’s Media Sponsor, www.greeningdetroit.com .
Conclusion
It is often stated we can’t manage what we can’t measure. If the success of the first Regional Storm water Summit is our measure, we can be sure to open up more conversations leading to triple bottom line solutions to the challenges that lay before our region concerning both water quality and quantity. Congratulations to all involved in putting forth such an informative, substantive summit and looking forward to many more regional storm water summits in the future.
ROBERT E. MATTLER, Associate Broker, Attorney and LEED AP BD+C, is Director of Green Brokerage at Armada Real Estate Services in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Bob is also Senior Correspondent forwww.greeningdetroit.com He speaks, writes and blogs about emerging sustainable real estate issues in Michigan and elsewhere. For more information, contact Bob at Armada Real Estate (248) 855-1221; or by e-mail: bmattler@armadarealestate.com
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Author: Robert E. Mattler, Green Agent Man, Representing GreeningDetroit.com