Transcript Slide 1

Water
Too Much or Too Little? Or a Little of Both?
URS Group Inc.
2010 ASFPM National Conference
May 2010
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)
Presentation Title
Presentation Title
How much does
an individual home affect stormwater runoff?
House
Driveway
Stormdrain
Street
Presentation Title
How much does
an individual home affect stormwater runoff?
+ “Green Concrete” Compacted Lawn
8,390 s.f. “impervious” x 1” rain (if infiltrates first ¼” of rain)
= 3,880 gallons of runoff
1,500 s.f. house (& patio) x 1” rain =
925 gallons of runoff
2,500 s.f.
“impervious” x 1” rain =
1,000 s.f.
driveway x 1”
1,542 gallons
of runoff
rain = 617
gallons of
runoff
Stormdrain
Street
Presentation Title
In a 1” rainfall
Potential Runoff:
5,422 gallons
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
Presentation Title
Regional
Traditional Techniques
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
Green Infrastructure Implementation
These characteristics
contribute to runoff.
They also present unique
opportunities for the use of
green infrastructure.
Presentation Title
http://flickr.com/photos/picsomike/
Green infrastructure implementation
Appropriately located Green
Infrastructure can decrease peak flow.
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.
$
$
Presentation Title
http://www.coxconcrete.com/products/rcp/index.html
$
Residential outdoor water use –
URS Australian Experience
USEPA Partnership Opportunities
Presentation to USEPA, July 9, 2009
Outline
 Plant Selector Tool
 Love Your GardenTM
 WaterRight Gardens Webtool
 NSW Governments BASIX Initiative
 Key learnings for the USEPA
Presentation Title
Average annual rainfall
Presentation Title
title
Presentation Title
Love Your GardenTM 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.
Presentation Title
Presentation Title
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 WaterSenseTM 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
Presentation Title