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Green Sustainability
Snow plowing and applying road salt was the accepted norm from the mid-20th century until just a decade or so ago. More communities are now using new technologies and methods that are ultimately cheaper, better for the environment, and most importantly provide the level of safety the public expects during winter storm events.
Why do some streams have TMDLs while others don’t? When monitoring or sampling results over a designated period of time reveal problems with the physical, biological and/or chemical conditions of a stream, river or lake, a waterbody can be listed on a state’s Impaired Waters List.
Vegetation shades the land in rural areas, allowing it to stay cool and moist. Urban development causes these natural environments to be replaced with roads, buildings, and other dry, man-made surfaces that retain heat causing the "heat island effect".
Developing and analyzing data sets showing the relationship between land use and location efficiency can be a difficult and expensive process. In response to this issue, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed three tools that analyze the land use and transit accessibility of metropolitan neighborhoods in the United States: Smart Location Database, Access to Jobs and Workers Via Transit Tool, and National Walkability Index.
The City of Oconomowoc, with assistance from R/M, constructed joint parking lots with vegetated parking lot islands to allow storm water to flow across the lot and into bioretention areas.
An emerging technology in the world of storm water management is floating treatment islands which are floating mats or rafts which provide a growing medium for wetland plants.
Green infrastructure practices, such as above and below ground cisterns, can be used to capture storm water and reuse it later.
Many communities have sites that local citizens have committed to maintaining. Adopt-a-Road programs have existed for many years now, and now Adopt-a-River programs are growing in popularity as well.
It may be sunny and 80 degrees outside, but it’s the perfect time to think about snow and ice. Many training sessions will be held this fall addressing road salt and other winter road management activities.
The City of New Berlin was faced with a difficult design challenge for a 7-block section of alley in the Buena Park neighborhood. The City wanted to take advantage of a Green Solutions grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). The solution was a porous asphalt pavement to provide storm water storage, filtration, and conveyance.
Excess phosphorus causes rapid formation of algal and cyanobacterial blooms, which have readily apparent impacts such as undesirable aesthetics, fish kills, and public health concerns. However, there are also less tangible economic impacts.
As municipal governments continue to move towards green infrastructure, innovative uses of existing materials become increasingly important. Additionally, the need to effectively move and treat storm water runoff becomes increasingly important. Local municipalities are recognizing the importance of these two items.
Nutrient pollution, also referred to as eutrophication, is a widespread environmental and economic issue. Excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen exist naturally in aquatic systems, but are detrimental if concentrations become elevated for several reasons.
Keeping track of which plastics should be recycled in a municipality can be difficult for residents. To increase participation in recycling programs, it is helpful to make the information readily available and easy to understand.
With the warm summer weather upon us, you are probably expecting to be getting better gas mileage for a few good reasons.
In recent years, many states and local municipalities have made enormous strides in reducing carbon emissions and increasing the overall sustainability of their operations and infrastructure projects. Many sustainable construction methods, which often go unnoticed, are gaining popularity due to their lower cost and big environmental benefits.
The average American household uses 300 gallons of water per day at home. With summer fast approaching, the time for swimming pools and sprinkler systems is almost here. Warmer months can lead to significantly higher water usage, meaning that water conservation is increasingly important!
Rain gardens are typically depressed garden beds where rain accumulates and slowly soaks into the ground. By directing downspouts to rain gardens, we can reduce the amount of runoff that reaches the street, then the storm sewer, and ultimately erodes the banks of our local creeks and lakes.
Prior to the first Earth Day in 1970, regulations to protect our air, water, and land simply did not exist. It took one Wisconsin native, Gaylord Nelson, to start the conversation of how to put environmental protection on the national agenda. He accomplished this incredible task by inventing Earth Day, a day to celebrate our earth's natural resources and recognize the importance of protecting them.
Bicycles are actually the world's most widely used transport vehicle, outnumbering automobiles almost two to one. However, the U.S. is a major exception to biking's popularity around the world with less than one percent of trips made in the U.S. done by bicycle.
