The quantity and quality of water in our region has direct impacts on everyone.
Flooding causes a huge financial burden on municipalities, businesses, and individuals while threatening public safety. Droughts lead to crop failures, inadequate domestic water supplies, and stressed ecosystems. Water quality degradation diminishes ecosystem health, domestic water supplies, and recreational opportunities. And new Vermont Clean Water Act legislation reinforces the need to treat water as a valuable resource.
Green Infrastructure (GI) is a suite of design tools and structural techniques that address all of these water issues by employing strategies that help to maintain natural hydrologic processes.
GI presents significant opportunities for Vermont municipalities, businesses, and individuals to reduce the impacts of storm water on budgets and assets while protecting vital natural resources. “As we adapt to the impacts of climate change, it is essential that we seek strategies to protect life, property, and our region's natural resources,” according to a press release from the Windham Regional Commission (WRC).
The commission has scheduled two Green Infrastructure workshops - Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room, and Thursday, Oct. 22, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at the Jamaica Town Hall on Route 30.
The program agenda includes:
The Hydrologic Cycle: The impact of human activity on water quality and quantity.
Green Infrastructure (GI): What it is and how it can be used to conserve water resources and reduce costs.
Low-impact development and Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Tools and techniques for implementing GI.
GI at the Municipal Level: Resources for supporting GI through municipal plans and regulations.