As a member of the Minneapolis Tree Advisory Committee, I wanted to
pass along news of this recent publication regarding smart
environmental design regarding run-off management in our Mississippi
watershed. I haven't read the booklet yet, but I did just order it
and look forward to learning more. Especially with the devastation
seen along the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana, it is especially
timely that we pay attention to how we are treating runoff and
wetlands in our fair city.
I hope other policy makers who participate on this List will order
copies for themselves and their staff. Each of us must do our part
to keep our river clean, safe, and sustainable. The book costs about
$7 and is available by contacting Tree Trust at TreeTrust.org.
Tracy Nordstrom
Tree Hugger and Clean Water Lover
Candidate for Minneapolis Park Board
Member of Minneapolis Tree Advisory Committee
East Calhoun
"GREEN SPACES, CLEAN WATERS"
Low Impact Development (LID) is an innovative approach to managing
rainwate
runoff by using building and landscaping designs that infiltrate,
filter,
store, evaporate, and detain water runoff close to its source.
Tree Trust <http://www.treetrust.org/> , a local organization founded in
1976 to help reforest the Minnesota Twin Cities Metropolitan area in the
wake of Dutch Elm disease, has published a booklet called "Green Spaces,
Clean Waters" that highlights a variety of landscaping ideas that
improve
water quality along the Mississippi River.
We are reminded in this tiny tome that the mighty Mississippi is the
reason
why the Twin Cities exist! As it grew up around St. Anthony Falls as a
source of waterpower, it has slowly lost much of its vitality due to
water
pollution. Due to the presence of contaminants like mercury and PCBs
there
are restrictions on eating fish taken from 85 percent of the section
that
stretches from Minnesota to Illinois. In addition, there is an area
at the
Gulf of Mexico that people refer to as the "Dead Zone" because oxygen
levels
are so low that fish and other aquatic life cannot survive.
What has happened? The river collects pollution from the streams,
wetlands,
storm sewers and industrial pipes that drain into it. In a forested
area, 50
percent of the water and rainwater is filtered as it seeps into the
ground
and trickles through the soil; 40 percent evaporates and 10 percent
becomes
runoff. However, in the city where 75-100 percent of the ground is hard
surface, rainwater flows over our lawns picking up fertilizers,
particles
and dirt, flows down our streets picking up leaves and trash, flows
across
our parking lots picking up gas and oil, and carries it all into the
storm
sewers and streams without being cleaned. In the city, only 15
percent of
the water filters into the ground while 30 percent evaporates and 55
percent
becomes runoff.
This booklet focuses on ways to minimize the pollution that collects
in the
stormwater runoff from our yards, streets, roofs and parking lots.
And we
are reminded by the Metropolitan Design Center that "the Mississippi
River
begins not only in Lake Itasca, but in every backyard, storm sewer and
stream that drains into it."
Photos and illustrations from Tree Trust.
To order this booklet, click on the link above.
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