December 2 - EPA's Birthday

December 2, 1970 was the start of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.   The EPA was set up to help deal with and preventing environmental problems. 

Superior is in the EPA's Region 5 which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and 35 tribes. 

The EPA encompasses preventing and cleaning up of air and water pollution,  education, and enforcement of laws.  Climate Change and sustainability are also big topics now where businesses, governments, and residents need to work together.

The City of Superior follows the WPDES (Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) from the EPA and enforced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Superior Environmental Services is about keeping water clean and with the permit we are monitoring construction sites, educating the public, education municipal staff on preventing pollution, checking for illicit discharge, and finding ways to reduce nonpoint source pollutions.  The motto is "only rain down the drain."   The storm drains can help a street by reducing the likelihood of flooding but unfortunately, they are openings to local streams.  

Here are some national photos being submitted about views of America.
Documenting Photos - Documerica is place for people to submit photos
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157620856436476/


SHARE A PHOTO

If you'd like to share any older or current photos of Superior with us please do so.  Local waters, native plant gardens, water recreation activities, flooding, snow or rain event shots, and such would be welcome to be part of a collection on local images. 
We won't be seeing leaves, green grass or flowers for awhile but if you have photos from other seasons that would be great.  Perhaps this will turn into a school project.

Remember we all make a difference in local water quality.  What we do on land affects our local surface waters.  The EPA is a government organization to help with keeping the environment healthy which in turn helps wildlife and humans.  Local organizations, local government, local businesses, and local cooperation is all important for finding ways to keep the environment in good shape for now and for the future.

Climate Change and Stormwater

 With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar wrapping up this week, the topic of climate change has been making headlines all over the world.  While climate change has the potential to impact all aspects of our lives, we're going to focus on the possible effects on stormwater.

Rising global temperatures can lead to more extreme weather events (larger storms, longer droughts, etc.)  More intense rainfall events can bring increased flooding, runoff and erosion.  This could lead to major issues for many municipalities as stormwater conveyance systems were built with historical weather events in mind.  Municipalities may not be equipped to handle frequent, intense storms that could become the normal with increasing temperatures. 

So what does this mean for you?  More frequent extreme weather events that current stormwater conveyance and storage measures cannot handle could lead to flooding and property damage.  Some ways to mitigate these effects include: decreasing impervious surfaces to allow for more stormwater infiltration, planting trees and maintaining riparian buffers to prevent erosion, and using low impact development (LID) practices for new development.  Implementing preventative measures now can help us weather the storm in the future.

To learn more about climate change and stormwater, visit these pages:

University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute

United Nations Climate Change Portal

Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts Stormwater Working Group

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards