Water Too Much or Too Little? Or a Little of Both? URS Group Inc ASFPM National Conference May 2010

Presentation Title Flooding vs droughts  Data on water usage and the problems associated with it.

Presentation Title Ground-truthing green  What is Green Infrastructure?  What are the types that should be considered for large scale reduction of storm water?  How can it benefit floodplain, stormwater and wet weather management?  How are communities already using it and quantifying its use?

Presentation Title Green infrastructure  Natural and managed green areas in both urban and rural settings,  Strategic connection of open green areas,  Treating rainwater as a resource and not as trash to be discarded as quickly as possible,  Transforming “grey” infrastructure to green through restoration of watersheds to slow and store water, and  Providing multiple benefits for people. Green infrastructure is management approaches and technologies that utilize, enhance and/or mimic the natural hydrologic cycle processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration and reuse. Wet Weather Action Strategy 2008

Presentation Title What else is green infrastructure?  Helping communities come closer to attaining the CWA standards  Public Perception (sustainable cities)  Leverage State and Federal Program Dollars  Opportunity to “marry” multiple public work efforts (street scaping, sidewalks, parks, floodplain & stormwater management)

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How much does an individual home affect stormwater runoff? Street Driveway House Stormdrain

Presentation Title How much does an individual home affect stormwater runoff? Street In a 1” rainfall Potential Runoff: 5,422 gallons 2,500 s.f. “impervious” x 1” rain = 1,542 gallons of runoff Stormdrain 1,500 s.f. house (& patio) x 1” rain = 925 gallons of runoff + “Green Concrete” Compacted Lawn 8,390 s.f. “impervious” x 1” rain (if infiltrates first ¼” of rain) = 3,880 gallons of runoff 1,000 s.f. driveway x 1” rain = 617 gallons of runoff

Presentation Title Where can rain (stormwater) soak in?

Presentation Title Q – How do we protect our streams and infrastructure? A – Manage How Stormwater Runs Off the Landscape

Presentation Title Distributing stormwater controls close to runoff sources Distributed Stormwater Features Regional Traditional Techniques

Presentation Title What does green infrastructure look like?  Stream Buffers  Green Space Preservation  Trees  Rain barrels  Wetlands (preserve and restore)  Regional Planning  NAI  Best Management Practices

Presentation Title Alternative Designs

Presentation Title Constructed Wetlands

Presentation Title Other Applications

Presentation Title Green Roof Applications

Presentation Title Pervious Infrastructure

Presentation Title Rain Gardens & Bio-Infiltration Devices

Presentation Title These characteristics contribute to runoff. They also present unique opportunities for the use of green infrastructure. Green Infrastructure Implementation

Presentation Title Appropriately located Green Infrastructure can decrease peak flow. Green infrastructure implementation

Presentation Title Green infrastructure implementation  Impervious land uses  Change land use characteristics without changing the land use

Presentation Title $ $ $ Green infrastructure does not replace gray infrastructure. Can reduce the capital costs and O & M costs of gray technology.

USEPA Partnership Opportunities Presentation to USEPA, July 9, 2009 Residential outdoor water use – URS Australian Experience

Presentation Title Outline  Plant Selector Tool  Love Your Garden TM  WaterRight Gardens Webtool  NSW Governments BASIX Initiative  Key learnings for the USEPA

Presentation Title Average annual rainfall

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Presentation Title Love Your Garden TM Behaviour Change Tools  Rain gauge – defer irrigation events in response to rainfall  Tap Tags – highlights seasonal frequency and runtime  Customer report – a full summary of the assessor’s findings with recommendations and vouchers related to the recommendations.

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Importance of soil…

Presentation Title BASIX water targets across NSW

Presentation Title Opportunities for the USEPA  Encourage no/low water use landscapes  Irrigate to ‘actual’ landscape demand  Irrigate efficiently  Use sustainable alternative water supplies  Educate

Presentation Title USEPA WaterSense TM and the web  Interactive and free  Consistent policy outcome  Individual feedback  Real time monitoring  Simple…

Presentation Title Funding acknowledgements  Sydney Water Corporation  Australian Government – raising national water standards program  Australian Capital Territory – Department of Environment, climate change, energy and water  Smart approved WaterMark