While the resolution applied to alternative energy, its well beyond time to apply this type of thinking to every aspect of City Government, including our Waste Water Treatment System.
As written in last week's post, the Federal EPA is requiring Euclid to make tens of millions of dollars of improvements to our system. The fees illustrated last week will pay for improved sewer lines, new holding tanks and improved storm water treatment. This type of approach is referred to as "Grey Infrastructure." It does nothing to address the AMOUNT of storm water that enters our system
An Alternative Approach
Keep water out of the system! By doing so, there is less need for more tanks, and greater treatment plant capacity. In other words, it takes the current storm water load off the system meaning fewer costly improvements are needed. Euclid should adopt a "Green Infrastructure" Program.
What is "Green Storm Water Infrastructure?
The Philadelphia Water Department has a great description: "Green storm water infrastructure includes a range of soil-water-plant systems that intercept storm water, infiltrate a portion of it into the ground, evaporate a portion of it into the air, and in some cases release a portion of it slowly back into the sewer system." Tools to intercept storm water run off include: rain barrels, pervious pavement for driveways and parking lots; rain gardens; tree trenches, "green" roofs. Green infrastructure also has the benefit of filtering the storm run off of pollutants such as oils, chemicals and nitrogen. And, that means a cleaner Lake Erie.
The Value of Trees in Storm Water Management
Trees soak up water, primarily through their root system. Tree leaves also prevents rain water from hitting the ground, and is then evaporated back into the air. Tree roots can also improve the soil, allowing the ground to absorb more water. Depending on the variety and size of the tree several hundred gallons can be absorbed each year.
Philadelphia and Lancaster, PA - Case Studies
To comply with Federal EPA regulations, the City of Philadelphia was faced with a 9 billion dollar tab to construct giant tunnels to hold storm water. The City does not have 9 billion. Therefore, Mayor Mike Nutter embarked on a program called Greenworks Philadelphia, a comprehensive green program for everything from energy usage, to recycling to storm water management. The storm water program, administered through the Philadelphia Water Department created new storm water management fees, and incentives to disconnect downspouts, install roof and and rain gardens, rain barrels, etc. Building pervious alleys and roads, urban forests and rain gardens on empty land, is another strategy behind the effort. Mayor Nutter believes that green infrastructure will cost about 7 billion less to comply with the Federal EPA than the proposed cost of the tunnels.
Lancaster is a city in some ways similar to Euclid: Older, smaller lots, a little bit larger than Euclid. They are located in the Delaware River watershed, so, are under EPA mandate to improve their waster water treatment system: Under a traditional approach of new tanks, and pipes and other plant improvements, the price tag was estimated at 300 million dollars. Lancaster City government instead adopted a green infrastructure approach that will cost less than half of that, about 141 million. What is most promising is that by adopting this green approach, Lancaster has won numerous grants to implement their plan.
North East Ohio Regional Sewer District
If we look in our own back yard, we would find that the North East Ohio Regional Sewer District is adopting many of the strategies found in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Chicago and other places: integrating green infrastructure into their sewer system improvements. NEORSD was just given permission by the courts to implement a storm water management fee ALONG WITH INCENTIVES to help keep water out of their system.
And, What of Euclid?
Before moving forward with any new fees, the City of Euclid owes it to our rate payers to evaluate the following:
1) Education: Almost two years ago now, Council passed legislation allowing the disconnect of residential downspouts with approval from the City Engineering Department. To date the City has not had a single request. The City should develop a website tab or a stand alone website dedicated to property owners that want to disconnect downspouts ,install rain gardens and pervious pavement.
2) Demonstration: Two years ago, I convinced the Euclid Schools to do a "test pour" of pervious concrete: the City was not interested. The City must take the lead in disconnecting downspouts, installing pervious pavement, planting rain gardens, trees and green roofs on City property.
3) Evaluation: As far as we can tell, the City's engineering firm has not really explored the green infrastructure approaches. The City must hire an engineering firm with green infrastructure experience to evaluate the current Long Term Control plan, and green alternatives. This firm should also evaluate how the system is managed, the proposed fee increases, and, potential alternative fee structures.
EPA
Will the Courts and the Federal EPA allow Euclid to revamp our storm water control plan? According to the online magazine "Waterworld" the answer seems to be "yes." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will continue to promote the use of green infrastructure and work to develop an integrated planning process to help local governments manage wastewater discharges and stormwater runoff more efficiently and cost effectively. In commenting on the memo, Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe said, "An integrated approach allows communities to prioritize their investments to address the most serious water issues first and provides flexibility to use innovative, cost-effective storm- and wastewater-management solutions -– including green infrastructure."
To review: There are alternative strategies to Euclid's storm water problem, solutions that are better for the environment, and less expensive. So, do we go grayer, or greener? The choice is up to you.
Resources
City of Philadelphia:
http://www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/green_infrastructure
City of Lancaster:
National Tree Benefit Calculator:
http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/index.cfm
N.E.Ohio Regional Sewer District: http://www.neorsd.org/stormwaterprogram.php
Rain Garden Manual for Home Owners:
http://www.tinkerscreekwatershed.org/documents/RGManual.pdf
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