Shaping the City: (Re)Building Sustainable Infrastructure
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-01-19/shaping-city-rebuilding-sustainable-infrastructure
Guest Host:
Paul Brown
They're invisible parts of our built environment: the complex, underground networks that connect our homes and work places to water, sewage and electricity systems. But many of these systems are rapidly deteriorating and contributing to longstanding environmental problems like storm water runoff and sewage spills. We talk with architect Roger Lewis and George Hawkins of DC Water about the design and price-tag of rebuilding and "greening" our infrastructure.
Guests
Roger Lewis
Architect; Columnist, "Shaping the City," Washington Post; and Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Maryland College Park
George Hawkins
General Manager, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority; former head of the D.C. Department of the Environment
Comments
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The Water Environment Research Foundation has a considerable library of research and information on infrastructure management, asset management, and decision making around repair versus replacement issues related to wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. I invite interested callers to learn more by visiting our website at www.werf.org. Panel member George Hawkins recently was the recipient, on behalf of DC Water, of WERF's prestigious award for Excellence in Innovation.
As wonderful as DC Water and the District Dept of the Environment are, we all over the Metro area have to help them, by learning to make changes to our lawns, our school and religious institution land to soak in rainwater.
I co-direct the National Capital Region Watershed Stewards Academy to help train adults to do this work and to help people, neighborhood by neighborhood and lawn by lawn to make those changes. Without that help, these agencies can't solve the problem.
In particular in the Combined Sewer System in DC, our work has the chance to save millions of dollars if we can keep even one of the underground holding tanks (required by an important lawsuit) from being built to keep sewer water from being dumped directly into the Anacostia, Rock Creek and the Potomac as it is currently in an average sized rainfall.
Chiptunes?! On Kojo?! And it's not even Tech Tuesday! Whoever is putting great computer/game music on the radio, you've brightened my day. Thank you!
Could you please post some resources on this topic?
We recently bought a rain barrel (and there's a rebate for that in D.C.) But I want to plant our barren tree box with something that is not grass. Natives or something low. Most tree boxes in the city either do not drain well or have fencing, weird tall plants. What plants would thrive or at least survive in the tree box around trees, or in some cases with no tree?
Where can you buy small pervious pavers? Is there an easy DIY formula? The grid systems I see for planting are scaled for big parking lots.
You may find this WERF website helpful:
http://www.werf.org/livablecommunities/who_homeowner.htm
i enjoy your article. great job. keep it simple
Our water infrastructure is fundamental, and dc greenworks supports DC Water's efforts to shift the regulatory requirements from grey to green infrastructure. This shift will relieve the load on the existing water and sewer system, creating jobs and saving money (on monthly water bills). Among its additional benefits: unlike grey infrastructure, hidden or not, green infrastructure can be a visible asset to the community, positively affecting property values.
Amazing idea,
positive things, Generally there are lots of people researching about the same topic.,now they will find out plenty of sources by your report.
We are looking forward for further particulars about it
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