What is impervious? How much in Superior is impervious?

About 21% of the City of Superior is impervious.  On these types of materials water does not infiltrate into the ground.  Instead, it runsoff.  Whenever there is runoff there is the possibility of pollutants traveling along with the water.  Pollutants ranging from natural things like soil, leaves, small branches to chemicals and materials like oil and spills. 

From the pie graph below you can see that of the impervious areas most of it is due to roads (21%).  Buildings comprise about 16% of the areas. 
Other categories with 5% or over are: unpaved driveways (16%), paved parking areas (9%), railroad yard (7%), unpaved roads (5%), paved driveways (5%), and parking unpaved (5%).  Unpaved areas are considered impervious because of compaction of the soil.  Other areas considered impervious are pools, tanks, trails, alleys, sidewalks, decks, concrete, and holding ponds.

We're excited for....road construction?!

This morning, a local radio station was covering the upcoming construction for this season.  Most people dread "construction season", which seems to crop up while we're still recovering from the snowy, icy roads of winter.  One project we're pretty excited about, though, is the Tower Avenue reconstruction.  Excited for road construction? Crazy, right?  Let me explain.
We have a few different tabs on the top of our blog.  The "Water and the Environment in Superior" tab has a list of contacts for various environmental/water issues.  It also has a map that show some stormwater management practices around town.  These include rain gardens, green roofs, pervious pavement, etc.  What does this have to do with road construction?  Well, we're excited for the Tower Avenue project because we'll be able to add some new things to our map.  Along with the construction of the actual road, there will be tree trenches added along the road; tree trenches are "systems of trees connected by an underground filtration system" (Philadelphia Water Department). Tree trenches store water for the trees to use in the engineered soil.  They also slow and reduce runoff.  There will also be plants in the medians, which will reduce the amount of impervious area.  So, if you're sad about dealing with construction, just think of all the good things that will come along with it!  Check out the plans here: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/wis35towerave/index.htm

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards