In today’s Freeman (Nation/World, page B2) there is an interesting article from the AP on the first national ordinance for rainwater harvesting on commercial projects in Tucson, AZ. Half of the water supply necessary for landscaping for new business and corporate or commercial structures will need to be harvested beginning next year.
Kingston environmental educator Steve Noble and Mayor Sottile have been in discussions for some time (on the subject of Kingston’s storm water issues). There are other important community leaders and public officials providing helpful information on what to do, too. How about some ideas and advice from the great minds of our residents? (Bring this subject to your Yahoo! Discussion group to flesh out the subject).
With the recent debate of the city of Kingston taking a ‘green pledge’ to work towards more local, green jobs for our community – could harvesting our own rainwater help to provide a savings of resources and tax dollars while providing sustainable new jobs for Kingstonians?
What is clear is that if we don’t figure out some sort of solution for our current storm water/raw sewage problem the city is likely to be fined upwards of $37,500 a day by the DEC. “The problem of sewage getting into the Rondout Creek has long been an issue in the city, where some sewer pipes handle a combination of storm and waste water. During periods of heavy rain, the city’s sewage treatment plant cannot handle the flow, and the overflow goes into the creek. Some pipes overflow directly into the creek.” (Taken from the Daily Freeman. The article in full is attached below).
Read on….
Tuscon Rainwater Harvesting Law Drawing Interest
Kingston lawmakers balk at bond to study revamp of sewer system
– Rebecca Martin
Job creators include rain barrel and rain garden development, green roofs (and production of materials like plants and lightweight soil media, and drainage pipes), small urban greenhouse systems, and larger-scale stormwater retention strategies like “storm chambers” (produced in Cobleskill w/ installer in Rosendale). This is one of the many subclusters of green industry worth discussion here and now. Kingston’s creative economy and its garden and landscape oriented economy could have wonderful synergies and really help the city to project a worthy positive image.
On the other side of the issue—the occasional drought (I know, you can’t remember, but it happens)—is grey water recycling. Here’s an interesting piece from Chicago Public Radio about projects there involving grey water use at a permanent housing project for formerly homeless people, rain catchment at an LGBTQ center, and a biologist who cleans his dishes by sloshing bacteria around in buckets.
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=25759
This was posted in the Ward 9 Yahoo! Discussion Group. For anyone interested in Rain Barrel installation in at home. I put one in at my place this summer – and there is one going into City Hall for the Victory Garden.
Rebecca
“For those of you interested, The Forsyth Nature Center will be giving a free program this Saturday entitled, Water Conservation 101. This program is at 1pm on July 11th at the FNC. This program will discuss Rain Barrels, their operation, and will show how easy they are to install. This informal program is a great way to see how simple steps in your life can save thousands and thousands of gallons of water and reduce stormwater here in our Kingston Community.
You can find out more about this and other programs at http://www.forsythnaturecenter.org or pick up one of our brochures placed all over Kingston:)
-Steve
Steve and Julie Noble
Environmental Educators
City of Kingston Parks and Recreation Department
Forsyth Nature Center
http://www.forsythnaturecenter.org
845-331-1682, ext 132″
C’mon, Kingston, show us your leadership! This isn’t a problem for the city, it’s an opportunity to turn a negative into a long-term positive.
All the keys are here now – new learning about storm water management shows that 90% + of surface stormwatercan be retained in an area using biological swales and high-efficiency sub-subterranean storage systems like the Atlantis rainwater tank. These systems filter out contaminants naturally. And once that water is detained, it can be slowly released, or retained and tapped for irrigation during dry periods.
Water harvesting is becoming commonplace in many communities – in any scale necessary. It can help solve the problems of stormwater management, overtaxed municipal water treatment facilities and the stress on fresh water supplies from irrigation. See more at http://www.Wahaso.com.