Structural Soil & North Tower Ave project

Last week one part of the bus tour we hosted was a drive along the newly reconstructed North Tower Ave.

Here is a closer look at what was planted there:
Common Hackberry
Discovery Elm
Harvest Gold Linden
Ivory Silk Lilac Tree
Honey Locust
Northwood Maple

Alpine Spirea
Dakota Spirea
Little Prince Spirea
Prairie petite lilac

Blue forest Juniper
Valley Cushion Pine

Feather reed grass
Prairie Dropseed

Together over 2000 plants were planted on the stretch of road north of Belknap.

To better ensure the survivability of the trees and plants a water system is in place and also structural soil developed at Cornell that uses Hydrogel has been used.  Here is a link to learn more about the special soil that keeps spaces open (reduced compaction potential) so that water can be more available to trees.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/uhi/outreach/csc/article.html

Belknap Street Project is coming next.

Weed Walks & Talk on Aug 23

Identify weeds in your yard and community.  Three walks will be held on Saturday, Aug 23 to identify weeds in our area.  The walks will begin at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. at the City of Superior Environmental Services website at the Farmers Market.  The Farmers Market will be at the Superior Public Library rather than Barkers Island due to the Dragon Boat event. 

At Noon, you're invited to attend an indoor event on weed identification in the small classroom at the Superior Public Library.  
Learn about better identifying what is in your yard and garden and what to do about them. 

Thoughts on stormwater in Superior . . .

We had an informal survey during the ReGrand opening festivities of North Tower Ave. about stormwater beliefs. There were 3 statements that respondents rated as strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree. The statements were:


           (1) Reducing stormwater runoff is important to me
           (2) I would like to see more green infrastructure around Superior
           (3) Stormwater pollution is a problem in Superior

For the first statement (Reducing stormwater runoff is important to me), 50 of the 60 respondents (83%) strongly agreed to the statement while the remaining 10 somewhat agreed. No one disagreed.

For the second statement (I would like to see more green infrastructure around Superior) 81% strongly agreed to the statement, 14% somewhat agreed and the remaining 5% somewhat disagreed with the statement. No one strongly disagreed.

The third statement (Stormwater pollution is a problem in Superior) had the most variable responses. 48% strongly agreed to the statement, 41% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat disagreed and one person strongly disagreed with the statement that stormwater pollution is problem. 

Nearly all of the 60 respondents happened to be Superior residents.

How do you think you would respond to the 3 statements? Do you think responses will vary before and after a rain storm? Send us a comment!

Training & Safety

This week the Superior Fire Department has been coming here to the Superior Wastewater Treatment Plant to learn about the treatment process and get a feel for the layout of the assorted campus of buildings here to be better able to respond quickly if a problem would arise.  We are definitely not just one building.  In order to clean the incoming wastewater
 
Being prepared can help in safety at our workplace and our homes.  Our local environment and water quality depends on people who are prepared and act appropriately to dispose of unwanted materials properly. 

Head to our Disposal Guide page www.ci.superior.wi.us/disposalguide for learning where items should be brought.  The hazardous material are often recycled.  Mercury should never go to the landfill.  Mercury, lead and other metals can be recycled. 

Wastewater Treatment - What is involved?

This morning was our annual August public wastewater treatment tour.  Six community members came to learn and walk through the steps as the wastewater continues on its path through the plants being cleaned before being discharged to Superior Bay of Lake Superior.  Coming on a tour is a great way to learn about the steps and you will understand more why certain things should not be flushed.  Keeping 'stuff' from coming here in the first place can make a difference in local water quality.

We have extension construction going on here but we made it safely around to stop at each of the steps.  The Belt Filter Press was even operating.  That's one of my favorite stops.  It the final step for the solids and follows anaerobic digestion in the digesters.   Dewatering is done via pressing to reduce water so fewer trucks are needed to haul the end sludge away to the landfill. 

I've made up a short quiz about wastewater treatment here and I encourage you to take it and see how you do.  You can find it under the Quiz tab in the blog. 
It should less than 5 minutes.  See how you do.

A few more openings for the Tour De Water Bus Tour - It's Free

We love to educate people about how to keep our local waterways clean.  Reducing what is called non-point source pollution is very important as materials from roads and sidewalks can easily enter storm drains.  How can we slow down stormwater?
Learn about practices being down in Superior at UWS, a private business, and the City of Superior to slow down stormwater and clean stormwater.    Make your reservations for the Tour De Water Bus Tour by Aug 12.  Call 715/394-0392.  The 2.5 hour tour is free. 

Common resource

What do all these towns have in common?

Ashland Baraga Beaver Bay Cloquet (as a backup water supply) Duluth Grand Portage Grand Marais L'Anse

Marquette Rossport Silver Bay Sault Ste. Marie Superior Terrace Bay Thunder Bay Two Harbors

All the towns listed withdraw water from Lake Superior as their drinking water supply.

Issues related to bacteria contamination, temporary and persistent pollutants, and too much nutrients entering the system may impact the people's health in these communities.

As a reminder water treatment is completely separate from wastewater treatment.  Not flushing chemicals, medicines, household hazardous waste down the toilet or down a drain greatly reduces the likelihood of the chemicals entering Lake Superior - which is our drinking water source. 

Go to www.ci.superior.wi.us/disposalguide for information on where Superior residents should disposal of unwanted items, such as medicines, used motor oil, and other materials.

Build a parklet - helpers wanted this week

 

Help Build the Parklet     Want to help create a temporary urban people space, taking over a parking spot with seating and greenery in Superior?  Here is your chance!  We are looking for volunteers to help with the construction of Duluth's first semi-permanent parklet.   We are looking for volunteers for the following dates/times THIS week:   Today/Tuesday: 5:30pm - 9pm Wednesday: 6pm - 9pm  Thursday: 5:30pm - 9pm Saturday: Noon - 6pm   Construction Site: Marty Hope's garage 2608 N 23rd St Superior, WI   Park on the street and come around to the alley side.   Safety First!  Wear close-toed shoes, bring bug spray, work gloves, eye protection and tape measure if you've got them.     Please let me know what days/time you can join in the fun, just so we have a sense of commitment.  Just send me a short email at lisa@healthyduluth.org or call/text 612.390.0696   You'll also be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor the rest of the summer on Superior Street!  Thanks to the awesome staff at DSGW for pulling together and volunteering their expertise to help us get this accomplished for our community!

Boys & Girls

Thanks to the Boys & Girls Club for stenciling storm drains last Thursday.  We started at Kelly Park and the 9 youth painted the message -Do not dump, drains to stream - and learned about storm drains and protecting Lake Superior.  Together we cleaned and then labeled over 20 drains near the park.  Most of the youth were only 6 or 7 years old and were troopers for carrying the orange cone, bucket with paint and brush, and did a fine job helping to educate others.  Thank you!  

July 15 and 17 - Storm Drain Stenciling and Wastewater Tour Opp

It's summertime and we have a couple learning opportunities coming up.  It's like school but outdoors and only will be about an hour long.  These would be fine for grandparents and grandkids to participate in.

Tuesday, July 15 at 9 a.m. Meet on the east side of Kelly Park (Grand Ave.) and we will stencil storm drains with the message “Dump no waste, drains to stream.”   Wear old clothes.  Adults and youth above 12 are welcome.  Let us know if you are coming by calling 715-394-0392.  This may be cancelled due to inclement weather.   The project will last about 1 hour.   Cleaning the storm drains and marking them will help keep Lake Superior clean.  

On Thursday, July 17 at 9 a.m. the public is invited to a tour the Superior Wastewater Treatment Plant at 51 E. First St.  We are located one block north (toward the bay) from Superior Animal Hospital.  The tour is outdoors and lasts about 45 minutes.  You will learn how wastewater is treated before it is released into Lake Superior.  You will follow the route that water takes as it has materials removed from it.  You will also learn more about what not to flush to help the system run smoothly.

During the week before Lake Superior Day you’ll also see Lake Superior shape popping up at more places including the windows at Erbert and Gerberts, and Serenity Spa on Tower, and Big Apple Bagels on Belknap.  The painting will be a reminder to think about what you love about Lake Superior.

For more information on Environmental Services news and activities, go to www.ci.superior.wi.us/news or check the ESD Facebook page. 

Lake Superior Day is July 20.  Enjoy music, activities, education booths, rain garden tour, Stand Up Paddleboard demo and more at Barkers Island from 11:30-4 p.m.   A poetry workshop A Sense of Place will be held from 11-noon.  It’s free but advance registration is requested.  The leaders is the WI Poet Laureate Max Garland.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xDFlV7y53_lfM362mvSaUSmtNUSF_8dO1kP53nBfnGw/viewform 

We also have a Water bingo game if you'd like to give it a try.  Words are setup to all be related to water quality, water cycle, and water use.