Archive for the 'Natural Resources' Category
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
The Illinois Rain Garden Initiative grant program provides funds for the construction of a rain garden on public property. A rain garden is a depression, often near a downspout, that is planted with native wetland or aquatic vegetation. Rain gardens can be designed to flower throughout the summer and built to will hold stormwater runoff or snow melt, allowing the water to be absorbed slowly by the plants and the soil.
Rain gardens reduce stormwater runoff, improve water quality, allow for the recharge of groundwater supplies, increase wildlife habitat and often reduce the need for mowing and its associated costs and pollution. You’ll find the application forms at http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/RainGarden/applicationpage.htm. Teachers, not-for-profit organizations and community groups may apply. The maximum award is $1,000. Grant applications due by March 19, 2010. For more information, contact the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Division of Education (dnr.teachkids@illinois.gov or 217-785-0973). The IDNR and Illinois Conservation Foundation administer this program. Funds are provided through a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
(Photo of St. Margaret Mary School and Church raingarden)
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Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
As communities continue to grapple with perennial budget shortfalls, mounting water infrastructure needs, and overwhelming stormwater pollution problems, we need to ensure we are making the best water infrastructure investment decisions (economically, socially and environmentally) to utilize public funds most efficiently.
Traditional water planning has not recognized the interconnected nature of water supply, wastewater and stormwater management. More comprehensive planning methodologies, sometimes called “Integrated Resource Planning” (IRP), recognize these relationships from a least-cost, publicly transparent, and scenario-based perspective.
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
The Illinois EPA is seeking public comment by Wednesday, February 24, 2010 on the development of a Stormwater Green Infrastructure Plan for the State of Illinois, as required by the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act, passed in 2009.
Green Infrastructure is the interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas that naturally recharges aquifers, improves water quality and quantity, and provides recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. Green infrastructure manages stormwater by capturing raindrops where they fall. CNT encourages reuse of natural moisture by using rain gardens, swales, green roofs, tree planting, permeable pavement and other low impact approaches to restore natural drainage functions and recycle stormwater in urban environments. Read more »
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Thursday, January 14th, 2010
All seemed fairly routine when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency hosted a meeting at their offices to provide an update on the study of green infrastructure practices and regulations the Agency is required to conduct under P.A. 96-0026, the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act. But it was not expected that during the meeting, Marcia Willhite, Chief of the IEPA Water Bureau, informed the 100 or so people in attendance that the IEPA Water Bureau “needs to rethink some things, part of which is how to promote green infrastructure and innovative environmental projects” through the funding of projects with State Clean Water Revolving Fund money. Willhite said she intends to establish an advisory committee to revise revolving fund criteria to ensure that green infrastructure projects receive greater priority.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives has recognized green infrastructure’s tremendous potential for clean water, energy, jobs and community health with the introduction of the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2009.
Reps. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Steve Driehaus (D-OH) introduced federal legislation (HR 4202) on December 3 that authorizes up to $300 million annually in green infrastructure (GI) planning and implementation grants. The bill will also establish “GI centers of excellence” in planning, implementation and policy, and help states establish Green Infrastructure Portfolio Standards that would incrementally grow states use of green infrastructure stormwater management, akin to renewable energy portfolio standards.
“This is an opportunity to extend federal investment in green infrastructure’s ecologically and economically effective water conservation approaches,” said Steve Wise, CNT’s Natural Resources Director. “Green infrastructure returns rainwater from a stormwater problem back to the most critical, valuable resource we have. Green infrastructure protects and restores clean water, saves energy embedded in water treatment and pumping, and enhances communities’ health and vitality through expanded natural areas.
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Friday, December 4th, 2009
On November 18 the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) selected the CNT as the Coordinator of the Hickory Creek Watershed Planning Group. The Watershed Planning Group is conducting an 18-month planning process, with Geosyntec Consultants as the technical consultant, to create a plan to preserve the creek as the surrounding municipalities expand rapidly.
Hickory Creek is one of the finest streams in the Chicago region. Not only is it vital to the Des Plaines river system, but it also has historical significance; early 20th century ecologist Victor Shelford formulated the ground-breaking theory of stream succession based on observations he made at Hickory Creek. Thus, planning for the creek’s future is vital.
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Leading conservation experts, water system executives, local environmentalists and others agreed that managing stormwater with green infrastructure is a critical element to sustaining our water supply and preventing a future water crisis for Northeastern Illinois.
Green infrastructure took center stage at a recent regional discussion about sustainable water supply planning for Illinois, hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council and Openlands. The event was centered on a report to be released by both organizations titled Before the Wells Run Dry: Ensuring Sustainable Water Supplies for Illinois.
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Students from around Illinois helped decorate CNT’s latest contribution to sustainable water practices: painting, stamping and stomping a 330-gallon ‘Super Barrel’ rainwater harvesting cube into a collaborative work of art.
The students, teachers and their families gathered on a recent sunny Saturday at Navy Pier’s Union Park as part of Gov. Pat Quinn’s “Art on a Rain Barrel” contest to commemorate the 5th annual “It’s Our River Day.” Fifty schools were selected in a design competition to paint their rain barrels for judging the day of the contest. CNT and organizers invited all of the schools, as well as guests at the event, to paint on the Super Barrel, which will reside at CNT’s LEED Platinum headquarters on North Avenue.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
CNT recently added another tool to our stock of stormwater management solutions. The National Green Values™ Calculator (GVC) is a tool for quickly comparing the performance, costs, and benefits of Green Infrastructure (GI) to conventional stormwater practices. The GVC is designed to take you step-by-step through a process of determining the average precipitation at your site, choosing a stormwater runoff volume reduction goal, defining the impervious areas of your site under a conventional development scheme, and then choosing from a range of Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices (BMPs) to find the combination that meets the necessary runoff volume reduction goal in a cost-effective way.
The Calculator also estimates annual and life cycle benefits of reduced air pollutants, carbon dioxide sequestration, compensatory value of trees, groundwater replenishment, reduced energy use, and reduced water treatment benefits.
To get started, select a tab at the top to enter site information. Default values (that you can always change as the user) are provided throughout the calculator, so you can begin on any step. The Calculator provides output in a printable format, you can save the data output and share by creating a permanent link.
Try out the new National Green Values Calculator
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Thursday, August 20th, 2009
CNT is working with Illinois EPA, the University of Illinois-Chicago and others to scope out effective statewide stormwater management standards for Illinois that emphasize the use of green infrastructure.
IEPA awarded University of Illinois Urban Planning Program Director Martin Jaffe a grant to assess the use of green infrastructure for urban stormwater management. CNT and the UIC team will be reviewing existing green infrastructure systems and regulatory programs in cities and states across the country, as well as exploring the use of models to determine the effectiveness of these systems in urban environments. Read more »
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