Issue # 23
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Runoff Rundown |
Welcome to the 23rd issue of Runoff Rundown, the Center for Watershed Protection's quarterly electronic newsletter!
Preliminary Agenda available! |
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Don't forget that the Watershed Institute is going to Ohio this October! Register now! Visit the Watershed Institute web page for more details - http://www.cwp.org/WI06/wi06info.html. In a few weeks, look for a link to the full program brochure in your inbox!
We hope everyone is enjoying the summer as we have, despite a remarkably wet June. Center staff managed somehow to avoid field work during any of the major downpours, but had many opportunities to check out some post-storm effects on streams!
The Center is very pleased to announce two additions to our team (who incidentally help balance out the current 80:20 ratio of women to men!) We have a new water resources engineer, Mike Novotney, who actually relocated from Chicago to come work with us! An Indiana native, Mike has a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC-Berkeley and spent the last few years at an engineering firm assisting municipalities with developing and implementing NPDES Phase II stormwater programs. We are also glad to have Harry Hibbitts, albeit just for the summer, to provide support on our many watershed assessment projects and our many GIS challenges. He'll return to the University of Virginia in the fall to continue his Master’s degree in urban and environmental planning.
The Center also expanded its cache of remote staff with the most recent relocation of Jennifer Zielinski to her hometown of Cleveland, OH. Office staff are becoming more accustomed to conducting conference calls with barking dogs and lawn mowers in the background! We also continue to report baby news - Paul Sturm's son, Benjamin Adam, was born on the Fourth of July, and we congratulate Paul, wife Jill, and daughter Abby on their newest family member. Jessica Brooks-Ritter and husband Brian, married last November, wasted no time and are expecting their first child in January!
Article 2 of the Wetlands & Watersheds Article Series released
Earlier this summer, "Using Local Watershed Plans to Protect Wetlands" was released for free download. Visit the wetlands website at http://www.cwp.org/wetlands/index.htm to learn how and why wetlands should be part of watershed management!
Spotlight on Superior Stormwater Programs - As part of an on-going research project in the City of Fairfax, VA to determine the effects of non-structural best management practices, the Center is developing series of profiles on Phase I communities that highlight superior stormwater programs. The one included here covers the program in Santa Monica, CA and can be downloaded as a PDF - http://www.cwp.org/RR_photos/santa_monica_sw_fact_sheet.pdf. The remainder of these profile sheets will be released throughout upcoming issues of Runoff Rundown. The communities that will be profiled include Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; and the City of Fairfax, VA (Phase II). Each of these profile sheets provides a background on the community, the reason it has been found to be unique, innovative techniques each uses to address stormwater runoff, and cost/funding information, when available.
| In June, the Center, in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, finished up the Builders for the Bay Roundtable in Blair County, PA. To download the Recommended Model Development Principles for Blair County, PA and read the Center's press release, visit the BFB PA page - http://www.cwp.org/BFB_Pennsylvania.htm - of the Builders for the Bay website http://www.buildersforthebay.net. |  |
For the August Monthly Special, the Center is offering a classic issue of Techniques, the pioneering watershed journal that the Center published between 1994 and 2000, with any hard copy purchase of at least $5. This special applies to CDs, hard copy publications and t-shirts. Simply enter the following code in the coupon field when you order to claim your free Techniques: tech06. Visit our Publications page to learn more - http://www.cwp.org/pubs_download.htm#monthly
PROJECT UPDATES:
What We're Wrapping Up:
On June 15, the final meeting for the year-long Baltimore County Roundtable process brought together County Executive Jim Smith; representatives from the Center, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and the Home Builders Association of Maryland; and the diverse participants of the roundtable process to review the resulting document outlining development recommendations. Baltimore County released this article: http://www.co.ba.md.us/News/
releases/0615buildersforthebay.html, and the Center released this fact sheet: http://resources.co.ba.md.us/Documents/News/factsheet061506.pdf. Look for the final approved version of the Recommended Model Development Principles for Baltimore County on the Center website later this summer.
Two Center staff just returned from conducting a workshop in Puerto Rico, and in a few weeks two other Center staff will be conducting one in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read about these and the January 2006 workshop in Hawaii that make up our Tropical Watersheds project in our Featured Article section.
Working with the James River Association (JRA), the Center completed the James River Vulnerability Analysis and Subwatershed Action Plan in June for Old Town Creek, VA. The plan contains a list of 29 prioritized projects, each categorized into one of four groups: trash clean up; community education and outreach; retrofits, restoration and protection; and investigation and enforcement. Ten of these projects were identified as highest priority and will guide JRA’s next steps in implementation. JRA will launch the restoration efforts with the "Extreme Stream Makeover" initiative. This project will establish a high-profile urban restoration process for the Old Town Creek watershed that involves volunteers, and educating students and teachers. We look forward to covering this and other efforts in our Projects in Action section in future issues.
What we're working on:
The Center continues to move ahead on developing restoration recommendations and strategies for the Bronx River watershed in Westchester County, NY. Since last reported in January, staff from the Center and Biohabitats, Inc., have completed field assessments and are working to develop a project and recommendation ranking system. Staff developed rough conceptual designs for over 60 stormwater retrofit opportunities and 15 riparian corridor restoration opportunities in the watershed. In addition, numerous education, outreach, stewardship, and programmatic recommendations are under development.
| In mid-June, the Center and the Herring Run Watershed Association (HRWA) headed into the field to assess the streams in Redhouse Run using the Unified Stream Assessment. They identified several opportunities for restoration including areas of erosion, impacted buffers, trash dumping, exposed infrastructure, and flowing outfalls for further investigation. In late July, the Center, HRWA and Baltimore County staff headed back into the field to assess upland sources of pollution using the Unified Subwatershed and Site Reconnaissance (USSR) field survey. Future field efforts will include identifying potential stormwater retrofits. A report summarizing the findings of field assessments will be produced later this year. |  Paul Sturm discovers identifying "trash and debris" can be taken to a whole new level -- a police paddywagon! (Photo altered to protect the innocent.) |
In September, the Center will again have the opportunity to cast a wide "net" and reach hundreds around the country with a webcast entitled "Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) 101 – Program Development." The webcast is part of the U.S. EPA Stormwater Program’s Webcast Series, which has covered topics on post-construction stormwater management, construction, and stormwater utilities. The IDDE webcast will draw from the Center’s Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Guidance Manual, which outlines practical, low cost, and effective techniques for program managers and practitioners and details the types of testing used to detect illicit discharges, information on estimating program costs in terms of capital and personnel expenses, and timelines that estimate how long program implementation will take. Check the Center website in the fall for more information.
Joined by very dedicated and enthusiastic Port Tobacco River Conservancy (PTRC) volunteers, an intern from the Town of La Plata, Chesapeake Bay Foundation staff, and a Johns Hopkins University student, Center staff conducted fieldwork in targeted subwatersheds in the Port Tobacco watershed during June and July. The fieldwork identified vernal pools, high quality wetlands, cypress trees, undisturbed headwater streams, and submerged aquatic vegetation. However, also identified were construction sites lacking adequate erosion and sediment control, streams battered by highway runoff, and missed opportunities to incorporate Better Site Design and on-lot stormwater treatment practices in commercial and municipal projects. Preservation as well as inspection and enforcement are key issues in the watershed. Additionally, the list of potential restoration projects includes stormwater retrofits, reforestation, pollution prevention, and educational projects. PTRC members have been dedicated to educating the population and held a workshop on USSR methods for the volunteers prior to the fieldwork. PTRC currently conducts stream monitoring, so the methods presented at the workshop extend their efforts upstream to individual outfalls and to upland areas.
PROJECTS IN ACTION:
Periodically, Runoff Rundown will have this special section to share news from groups about how our work may have been implemented or how they have helped leverage new funding or projects. Please be sure to share with us how the Center’s partnership or resources have made a difference in your community!
We are pleased to learn that the Georgia-based organization, Etowah Habitat Conservation Plan, adapted the Center’s Better Site Design principles for several of their jurisdictions. Late last year, they released "Better Site Design Guidelines and Site Design Checklist." A diverse technical committee reviewed the existing development codes of the nine counties and five of the largest cities in the watershed using the Center’s Codes and Ordinance Worksheet and prepared draft site design guidelines and a model stormwater ordinance. To download the document: http://www.etowahhcp.org/research/documents/bsd_tech_rpt.pdf
Center Tackles the Task of Protecting Tropical Watersheds
| Over the last six months, the Center has worked with NOAA's Coral Reef Program and local coastal management offices in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to provide specialized assistance to local staff and watershed practitioners on controlling non point source runoff to the islands' important coral reef resources. Stormwater management on small islands can be challenging due to wildly variable rainfall volumes across a single island; extensive road construction and development on... /more/ |  Jennifer Zielinski and DPNR staff Amanda Sackey investigate suspicious discharge at a beach in St. Croix. |
Read full article here - http://www.cwp.org/RR_Photos/summer2006article1.htm
FEATURE ARTICLE:
Updates from the Field - In future issues, look for some project writeups in this format to give you a little more detail about the variety of Center projects!
June 22, 2006 Greetings from Mississauga, Ontario! For the Americans out there: Mississauga is in the Greater Toronto Area, a.k.a. the Golden Horseshoe. Anne (Kitchell), Tom (Schueler), and I just wrapped up a four day workshop with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC). The “Making It Work” workshop brought together... /more/ |
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Read full letter: http://www.cwp.org/RR_Photos/summer2006article2.htm
UPCOMING INSTITUTES:
2006 Watershed Institute
October 23-26, 2006
Deer Creek Resort & Conference Center
Columbus, OH area
Register now for the 2006 Watershed Institute! To register and for more information: http://www.cwp.org/WI06/wi06info.html
Join us for this first-of-its-kind comprehensive training for watershed professionals! Within four intensive days, watershed professionals can expect to be equipped with the tools to develop comprehensive watershed plans from beginning to end. The small-group activities, fieldwork, and discussions will focus on
- a framework to prioritize valuable and sometimes scarce resources such as funding and staff time,
- field and desktop methods,
- interpreting real data and how to integrate findings into a watershed plan, and
- practical methods including specific project investigations such as stormwater retrofit inventory and contiguous forest assessment.
Information page and to register: http://www.cwp.org/WI06/wi06info.html
Stay informed of the latest Institutes in the Coming Soon! section at the bottom of the Center's front page: http://www.cwp.org
WEBSITE: The UNH Stormwater Center also has info from their porous pavement lot. They have a presentation online called "A Performance Evaluation of Porous Asphalt as a Stormwater Treatment Strategy" available. For other presentations: http://www.unh.edu/erg/cstev/Presentations/index.htm
RFP: A Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Assessment and Watershed Protection Program Grants (AWPPGs) is posted on the EPA OWOW Funding Website http://www.epa.gov/owow/funding/rfp.html. Proposals are due Tuesday, August 15, 2006.
RFP: On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, the US Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting project proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects. Applications due COB August 14. http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/cecwp/estuary_act/
WORKSHOP: "Mapping California Communities: An Introduction to GIS and Community Analysis Workshop - One Day Workshop" various dates between July 25 and September 29, varying locations in CA. https://www.urban-research.info/ur/workshops/workshops-gis.shtml or 877.241.6576.
CONFERENCE: The 8th Annual Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference- "Back to Basics," August 25-26, 2006. State College, PA. For watershed groups on all sorts of watershed and AMD reclamation matters. http://treatminewater.com.
CONFERENCE: Wetlands Restoration Dialogue, September 18-20, 2006. Bahia Mar Resort, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Organized by the American Water Resources Association. http://www.awra.org/meetings/Wetlands2006/index.html
CONFERENCE: 2006 American Water Resources Association Conference, November 6-9, 2006. Sheraton Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD. Organized by the American Water Resources Association. http://www.awra.org/meetings/Baltimore2006/
SYMPOSIUM: 26th International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society "NALMS 2006: Making Connections -- People, Lakes, Watersheds" November 8-10, 2006. Crowne Plaza & Historic Union Station Conference Center, Indianapolis, IN. Hosted by the Indiana Lakes Management Society. http://www.nalms.org./symposia/indianapolis/home.htm
CONFERENCE: 12th Annual Conference: "Taking the Pulse of Maryland's Waters: Back to Basics" November 16, 2006, Maritime Institute, North Linthicum, MD. Organized by the Maryland Water Monitoring Council. http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/MWMC/
CONFERENCE: Innovations in Reducing Nonpoint Source Pollution, November 28-30, 2006. Radisson Hotel City Centre, Indianapolis, IN. Organized by the Rivers Institute at Hanover College in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and USCID. http://www.riversinstitute.org.
Runoff Rundown Team: Lauren Lasher, editor, Jennifer Zielinski, Tiffany Wright. Contributions from Center staff.
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