Local officials and community members got a first-hand look at what going green looks like during a recent tour.
The Stormwater Coalition of Albany County hosted a Green Infrastructure Tour Tuesday, Sept. 24, for elected and municipal officials, engineers and other community members to see for sites across the county where green ideas have been implemented to manage stormwater issues. Projects ranged from porous pavement being used at Antoinette Estates under construction in Colonie to green roofs helping to reduce runoff and provide energy efficiency and atheistic benefits.
The event was funded through a state Department of Environmental Conservation grant to help educate local officials and industry members about green infrastructure, to evaluate existing codes and develop local laws to encourage or support environmentally friendly practices.
“The purpose of today’s programs is to make real the green infrastructure and practices that you may have heard about or read about,” said Nancy Heinzen, program coordinator of the Stormwater Coalition. “The starting point for green infrastructure is a concern we all share, which is keeping clean. It is a way of preventing stormwater pollution from getting into our rivers. Not only do we want to keep our streams clean … we want to do things actively that improve water quality.”
Heinzen said implementing green infrastructure practices and techniques is how water quality can be improved through smaller projects like a rain garden or larger endeavors such as stream restorations. Green infrastructure tackles many areas, but the event focused primarily on water quality.
“If we reduce the amount of runoff going into the streams, that means there is less pollution going into the streams and there is less volume hitting the edge of streams so we don’t get the erosion and stream instability,” Heinzen said.
Keeping rainwater on site can reduce runoff, but using plants to absorb water is another method. Plant roots will also slow down the water, allowing for bacteria to start breaking down pollutants. If pipe drainage systems can be opened to form a natural stream, called “stream daylighting,” water pollution is also reduced.
Green infrastructure implementation is occurring across the world, but Heinzen said it’s new to the Capital District. Having funds available through grants to showcase possible projects is key, she said.
“We are in this together,” she said. “This doesn’t happen with one planning board person or one design engineer – it very much is collaborative.”
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said while the county has talked about going green, the sites included along the tour showcased actual implementation.
“I think we are on the right step,” McCoy said. “We still have a lot more to do; it is just the beginning of trying to clean up the environment and give back some green space in this county.”
McCoy said being a member of the coalition is important even with budgetary issues municipalities are facing. He noted one of the coalition’s 13 members (Voorheesville) would likely be leaving at the end of the year.
“Budgets are tough, but you’ve got to remember the money we invest today into the environment saves us thousands of dollars down the road,” McCoy said. “We are going to work with one of the villages that had to drop out to due to budget problems.”
The first tour stop was outside the Cook Park Pavillion in the Village of Colonie, where a rain garden was built to catch runoff from a parking lot. The gardens might resemble regular flower gardens, but they offer environmental benefits by allowing 30 percent more water to be soaked into the ground than a comparable patch of lawn.
“This is not a garden for a wet area, it is not a solution for that, it is a solution for stormwater runoff,” said Susan Pezzolla, master gardener at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County. “The plants are very specific to this type of garden. They are all native plants and they have big root systems, so they are making channels down in through the soil. … We are not fertilizing them at all; we are not babying them. They are just on their own and do fine.”
The average cost for a demonstration rain garden like at Cook Park is around $1,500 for labor, equipment and materials. There are similar rain gardens in the county maintained by Cornell Cooperative Extension volunteer master gardeners and staff, along with Stormwater Coalition staff. Both organizations are also working to develop a training program for the gardens.
Good drainage is required for a rain garden, which is built at least 10 feet away from a home. They range from 100 to 300 square feet in residential settings.
Another stop was to view a green roof located at the University of Albany Liberty Terrace Dorm, which is a LEED Gold facility that opened August 2012.
The green roof captures runoff through a layer of vegetation and soil on the flat roof and then the plants allow for evaporation and evapotranspiration to reduce the amount and rate of runoff.
“As much as I like to think we are cutting edge when it comes to research and academics, we don’t quite do the same thing when it comes to facilities,” said Diana Delp, architect and project manger at UAlbany.
University officials said there haven’t been any problems with the green roof system and the only real surprise was how easy it was to install. The vegetation also adds another layer of insulation to the building, and cuts down the glare of the sun.