Green Stormwater Infrastructure
How BWA is ‘greening’ the Brodhead Watershed
Slow it down! Soak it in! That’s the purpose of “Green Stormwater Infrastructure.”
For too many years, public infrastructure has been designed to get rain and snow melt off streets and parking lots, and make everything look clean and fresh again.
Unfortunately, that means all the dirt and bacteria (think dog poop!) on roadways and sidewalks ends up in nearby by creeks and streams, and in built up areas, streams are no longer safe for swimming and fish can’t survive.
The Green Infrastructure Plan for the Lower Brodhead Watershed provides guidance on many types of green projects, and a list of of possible project sites in the lower watershed.
With funding from several grants, BWA has installed green demonstration practices around the watershed:
Stroudsburg Pocket Park download pdf for more info.
RAIN GARDEN
Rain Gardens collect run-off in developed areas, where roofs and pavement create polluted runoff. The gardens’ native plants absorb the chemical-laden rainwater, preventing it from reaching nearby creeks.
Look for this sign at rain gardens installed by BWA and partners.
RAIN GARDEN RESOURCES
- The Alliance Chesapeake Bay’s Reduce Your Stormwater website includes an excellent interactive garden design tool. (http://www.stormwater.allianceforthebay.org/)
- For information on how to make a rain garden of your own: Build-a-Rain-Garden
OUTREACH – BATTLING DUCK POOP
BWA’s outreach campaign “Don’t Feed the Ducks” garnered much attention as it points out a problem many people never considered before: When you feed the ducks, more ducks come. Too many ducks create too much duck poop, which increases the fecal pollution in local streams.
BWA designed and purchased 12 “Don’t Feed the Ducks” signs like the one at right, which reads: “When you feed ducks, more ducks come. Lots of ducks mean lots of duck poop. This area’s fecal contamination is too high, so please do everyone’s water a favor: Don’t feed the ducks!”
Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg and Stroud Township installed the signs within their municipalities at areas where people and ducks gathered.
EVERYONE CAN HELP
For the Top 10 Tips for Cleaner Water, click here.
GREEN ROOFS
You may not see them, but they are doing an important job. One green roof in the watershed is at the Hughes Cancer Center in East Stroudsburg.
More Resources
“Tools, Strategies and Lessons Learned from EPA Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance Projects.” To see a PDF of the guide, click here.
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND. “City parks, clean water: Making great places using green infrastructure,” click here.
Green infrastructure projects: https://www.tpl.org/how-we-work/green-infrastructure
Clean Water Partners: Make it your business to reduce water pollution and flooding
GREEN GUIDE FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: A guide to help large property owners identify innovative green projects to reduce stormwater pollution