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===In the news (June 2021)=== | ===In the news (June 2021)=== | ||
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*[https://stormwater.wef.org/2022/01/researchers-propose-new-definition-for-green-infrastructure/ RESEARCHERS PROPOSE NEW DEFINITION FOR ‘GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE]. You may have noticed we use the term '''''Green Stormwater Infrastructure''''' in this manual. This is because Green Infrastructure includes non-stormwater activities and practices and addresses topics such as human and ecological benefits. This article is provides a brief overview of a study [https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2445 What is green infrastructure? A study of definitions in US city planning], published in '''Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment''' (January, 2022). This study shows that even within the stormwater community, much of the focus is on hydrologic aspects of stormwater. Thus, for example, permeable pavement is often identified as an important green infrastructure practice, though it has limited benefits beyond water quality and volume reduction. | *[https://stormwater.wef.org/2022/01/researchers-propose-new-definition-for-green-infrastructure/ RESEARCHERS PROPOSE NEW DEFINITION FOR ‘GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE]. You may have noticed we use the term '''''Green Stormwater Infrastructure''''' in this manual. This is because Green Infrastructure includes non-stormwater activities and practices and addresses topics such as human and ecological benefits. This article is provides a brief overview of a study [https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2445 What is green infrastructure? A study of definitions in US city planning], published in '''Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment''' (January, 2022). This study shows that even within the stormwater community, much of the focus is on hydrologic aspects of stormwater. Thus, for example, permeable pavement is often identified as an important green infrastructure practice, though it has limited benefits beyond water quality and volume reduction. | ||
*Build Back Better. We've been hearing this for some time now, with little apparent progress toward final legislation. There is no shortage of articles and information on this proposed legislation and what it means for stormwater and water in general. [https://www.nlc.org/article/2021/12/17/what-you-may-have-missed-in-the-build-back-better-act/ This article] provides a general overview of what was in the original proposal, indicating nearly 2 billion dollars were to be dedicated to rebuilding water infrastructure. Here are additional articles if interested in this topic: [https://waterfm.com/house-passes-build-back-better-act-with-additional-water-provisions/], [https://www.waterworld.com/drinking-water/infrastructure-funding/article/14214292/house-passes-175t-build-back-better-act], [https://www.nacwa.org/news-publications/news-detail/2021/04/07/biden-s-build-back-better-prioritizes-clean-water---what-does-this-mean-for-nacwa-members], and [https://www.estormwater.com/legislationgovernment-actions/infrastructure-bill-passes-house-impacts-storm-water-breakdown]. Will a bill get passed? If so, what will the implications be for stormwater? | *Build Back Better. We've been hearing this for some time now, with little apparent progress toward final legislation. There is no shortage of articles and information on this proposed legislation and what it means for stormwater and water in general. [https://www.nlc.org/article/2021/12/17/what-you-may-have-missed-in-the-build-back-better-act/ This article] provides a general overview of what was in the original proposal, indicating nearly 2 billion dollars were to be dedicated to rebuilding water infrastructure. Here are additional articles if interested in this topic: [https://waterfm.com/house-passes-build-back-better-act-with-additional-water-provisions/], [https://www.waterworld.com/drinking-water/infrastructure-funding/article/14214292/house-passes-175t-build-back-better-act], [https://www.nacwa.org/news-publications/news-detail/2021/04/07/biden-s-build-back-better-prioritizes-clean-water---what-does-this-mean-for-nacwa-members], and [https://www.estormwater.com/legislationgovernment-actions/infrastructure-bill-passes-house-impacts-storm-water-breakdown]. Will a bill get passed? If so, what will the implications be for stormwater? | ||
− | *[https://www.wateronline.com/doc/urban-greening-not-a-panacea-for-dealing-with-extreme-weather-study-finds-0001 Urban Greening ‘Not A Panacea' For Dealing With Extreme Weather, Study Finds]. The authors summarize [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28160-8 a study (Cuthbert et al., 2022)] point out that green stormwater infrastructure is just one piece of the urban hydrology puzzle. By itself, it cannot simultaneously solve issues of flooding and heat island mitigation. | + | *[https://www.wateronline.com/doc/urban-greening-not-a-panacea-for-dealing-with-extreme-weather-study-finds-0001 Urban Greening ‘Not A Panacea' For Dealing With Extreme Weather, Study Finds]. The authors summarize [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28160-8 a study (Cuthbert et al., 2022)] point out that green stormwater infrastructure is just one piece of the urban hydrology puzzle. By itself, it cannot simultaneously solve issues of flooding and heat island mitigation. |
+ | *[https://www.mwmo.org/news/mwmo-executive-director-doug-snyder-announces-retirement/ The Doc is leaving the house]. Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) Executive Director Doug Snyder will retire at the end of February 2022, after nearly 20 years of service at the MWMO. We'll miss you Doug. | ||
===[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Stormwater_quizzes '''Take the pretreatment quiz''']=== | ===[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Stormwater_quizzes '''Take the pretreatment quiz''']=== |
It's been several months since our last update, as we were wrapping up a number of projects.
It is widely acknowledged the most effective strategy for protecting receiving waters from chloride pollution is by reducing use of chloride-deicers. But elimination of deicers is not practical in the foreseeable future. Are there ways to manage urban runoff having elevated chloride concentrations?
A workgroup of stormwater and groundwater professionals recently produced a white paper, published by the Minnesota Groundwater Association, that addresses this topic. the paper, titled Impacts of Stormwater Infiltration on Chloride in Minnesota Groundwater, provides a discussion of chloride in stormwater runoff and potential groundwater impacts associated with infiltration of stormwater runoff.
Chloride concentrations in stormwater runoff are highly variable and seasonally dependent. Concentrations in winter range from several hundred mg/L to as high as 40,000 mg/L, with typical concentrations being closer 1000 mg/L. Concentrations outside the deicing season are typically less than 50 mg/L, with concentrations decreasing from spring into fall.
Chloride is toxic to aquatic life, with the aquatic life standard being 230 mg/L. The drinking water standard is based on taste and is 250 mg/L. Chloride is also toxic to vegetation, can corrode materials, and can inhibit lake mixing, which may in turn result in changes in phosphorus cycling.
Though chloride is not retained in soil, studies indicate it is attenuated in soil. As a result, there is a lag time between chloride entering soil, including a media-based stormwater best management practice, and its eventual movement to a receiving water. Understanding this process and the eventual receiving water can help manage runoff containing chloride.