S.W.I.M. Coalition

Investors take note:  Annie Donovan, Senior Policy Advisor for the New Financial Instruments at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, wants you to know that infrastructure investment means more than funding technological advancements in power grids, bridges, and cell phone towers; it can also mean the creation of sustainable communities.  Donovan highlights that innovative urban planners, policy makers, and social entrepreneurs have been honing their expertise in the growing field of green infrastructure for some time now and discusses a few green infrastructure collaborations funded by federal agencies and private organizations.  While she may be speaking to the choir here, the push for investors to help fund the creation of more ecologically vibrant communities is needed. Read more about it here.

In Lynchburg, Virginia a stormwater utility fee implemented in July 2012 has already brought in 15% more revenue for the city than originally anticipated.  This success can be attributed to a lower non-payment rate than predicted and a higher amount of impervious surfaces on commercial and industrial buildings than originally estimated, the basis for the utility charge. Read the article in the Lynchburg news and commentary on the article from the editor of Stormwater journal.

You are invited to a free screening of “Shellshocked,” a documentary about the history of oysters in New York City and the efforts to integrate these species back into the city’s waterbodies. The screening will be held on January 11th, 2013 from 6-8 p.m. at Rockefeller Research Laboratory, 430 East 67th Street, New York, NY  10065.  View the flyer for more information.

Since 2006 Riverkeeper has been testing water quality along the 155-mile Hudson River Estuary and has analyzed over 2,300 samples at 74 sampling locations.  How is the Water?, a comprehensive report on sewage in the Hudson River, was released today. Riverkeeper found that the Hudson still continues to suffer from sewage contamination but that the frequency and the severity of the contamination varies by location and time. Click here to read the full report.

On Saturday a barge carrying 112,000 gallons of No. 6 heating oil leaked into the Kill Van Kull in Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island. According to the US Coast Guard it is unclear how much oil was spilled into the waterway. A containment boom was placed around the spill and New York State Department of Conservation and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were responding to contain the oil. The spill occurred because of a leak in the cargo tank of a Boston Marine Transport Inc. barge. Read more here.

The University of Washington’s College of Built Environments has just installed a project called Biodiversity Green Wall, Edible Green Screen & Water Harvesting Demonstration Project. The project is designed to help discover to what extend green walls can promote biodiversity, reduce energy use and produce food.  The project will also harvest rainwater and recycle it for irrigation and therefore may lessen the impacts of stormwater. Learn more about this project and its multiple benefits here.