Orb365 Project Jan 16

Orb365 project is coming up this week!

This Friday afternoon - Jan 16 - will be the assemblage of 365 frozen water spheres (orbs).  Environmental Services invited the public to participate and fill balloons with water and made round frozen "bricks."   About 200 community members from youth to seniors are participating from a school, local organizations, businesses, county government and city government staff.  The sculpture to be built at Center City Park, near Belknap and Tower, will include all the spheres.  Thank goodness it's looking like the air temperature won't be quite a low numbers as the last week.  The sculpture will last how ever long it lasts.

Each sphere represents a day in the year that water is important. 

Thanks to all who are participating: Cathedral School students

Senior Nutrition

Superior Fusion

Thirsty Pagan

CASDA youth

Fairlawn Mansion

Lake Superior NERR Center for Muscle and Joint Therapy

Geraldine Hughes, master gardener

Stephanie - Clerk - Douglas Co.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore store

Mac's Sport

Shannon's Stained Glassery

Superior Library staff

Cathy Casper

Long Family and more! Whether you participate in making the orbs for this event or make one or more at home.  Hold up the sphere and think of it as a water drop.  What journey will that drop make in a given year?   Inside us is part of the story. We are also part of the effort to help keep it clean.

Water Film Fest II - January 29

Films can take us to places, share ideas, and open our connection to something.   Please join us and attend Water Film Fest II.  The date and place are being confirmed still.   Jan 29 (Thursday) from 6-8 p.m. in Room 1012 Swenson Hall at UWS is the place and time.  A dozen short films will be shown - all relate to water.   Several are local productions.
Thanks to UWS Lake Superior Research Institute for arranging the place.  It's easy to get to for students and the public.  Two screens.  Every seat is a good seat.
Free.  Bring a friend.  Bring a date :-)

Share the announcement with others who may want to attend: 

Here is the poster :

 

New Teacher Tab

Thank you for visiting our blog where we share news, events, information and more about stormwater and how we can prevent stormwater pollution.  We love to go out and visit classrooms, the senior center, organizations, and work with Lake Superior NERR.  We also know teachers are key people for encouraging education and understanding of water and water topics.

There is a new TAB on this blog - FOR TEACHERS.  It has some maps and exercises for students to learn more about local impervious areas, such as their school.  It also has an exercise to calculate (using a USGS website) how much water falls during a given rainfall.  All the water has to go somewhere. 

I hope these pictures and the activity on the new page will be a good resource for engaging students and local learning and helping keep our local waters clean.  We all make a difference.

Go to the NEW  FOR TEACHERS tab

 

Sept 18 (Thursday) film showing of Waterlife - the epic journey of water

Come watch the full length film showing of Waterlife - the epic journey of water on Thursday, Sept 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Superior Public Library. This is part of National Pollution Prevention Week.

ESD Water Words Poetry Contest

 

Water Words Poetry & Short Prose Contest

  For Superior residents of all ages.

Submit your entry by May 22 (one month after Earth Day)

Why is water important?  What should we be doing to help keep it clean?  Use your creativity to paint a picture with words expressing the role water has here in Superior or in the world. 

 

Please limit entry to one page.  Submit entry (1 per person) and include name and age (or indiciate adult).   Also, include your phone number, email and address. 

Submit poem or short prose by May 22 via email to grethenw@ci.superior.wi.us within the email or as an attachment or mail or drop off at
Environmental Services,
51 E. 1st St.,
Superior, WI 54880. 
Questions?  715/394-0392

 

Native Plants and Trees for Sale

We still have feet of snow on the ground and more coming today but think green by planning on ordering native plants and trees.  The South St. Louis County Soil and Water District has a sale now taking orders.

Friday, April 18, is the deadline for ordering bare-root seedlings from the South St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservation District. The native trees and shrubs come in bundles of 10 and 25 plants. Pickup is May 15-17. Visit southstlouisswcd.org/treeshrub for info and order forms or call 218-723-4867.

Water Film Night Survey results

Thank you to those who came out last night for our first free Water Film Fest night at UWS.  Thanks to the Lake Superior Research Institute for helping with the event and for all the local filmmakers and filmmakers beyond our region.

Here are the responses to a short survey that was handed out at the event.

Do you think water quality is better now than 50 years ago in the US?

   39% Yes
   47% No
 ~1% In some ways
 ~1% Don't know
 ~1% A little in some cases

What do you think is most important for water quality in the future?

  29% Education
  19% Government regulation
  14% Natural habitat
  14% Engineering design
   1% Individual action
  0.5% Population control, Global Warming, Conservation  (each 0.5%)

What do you view as the main water quality concern?

overuse

contaminants

overpopulation

industrial pollution

oil industry

toxic runoff from mines

factories

pollution

consumption

nonpoint pollution

Use of rivers/reservoirs

irrigation

Invasive species

Deforestration

Red clay

contaminated sediments

mercury

proposed mining

Prescription drugs and chemicals

Too many chemicals are used

Overdevelopment - too many impervious surfaces What do you suggest to improve local water quality?

Education

Reduce chemical contamination

Reduce pollution

Reduce plastics

Social responsibility

Fire and rehire at the EPA

Educational programs in schools

Educ. about nonpt pollution

Not sure

Engage organizations, citizens and gov

Disseminate education info through variety of media

Develop/produce programs to schools, integrate into curriculum

Protect and restore wetlands and estuary

Less use of drugs and chemicals

Clean polluted sites

Curb development

I think ours is good

Better shoreline landscaping

What local water bodies do you spend the most time in or near?

Lake Superior

Duluth area lakes

BWCA

Quetico

local lakes

Middle river

Lake Superior/Wi Point

Amity Creek

Lester River/creeks

Fish pine creek, white river, WI

St. Louis River

Creeks in Duluth

St. Louis Bay & River

Nemadji River

Fun Event this Thursday

What: Short videos on water - playing in water, water awareness, nature scenes
When: Feb. 13, Thursday, 6-8:30 (with a little break)
Where: UWS - Swenson 1012

Why: It should be a fun night filled with video shorts on the topic of water. A few of the local videographers will speak a little something as well. Topics include:

• What not to flush . . . we have to throw in some educational videos
•  Local water images . . . with lovely music
• Water Cycle Macarena . . . remember the macarena?
• Winter surfing on Lake Superior . . . because it is all about having fun!

Here's a preview video:

Clean Water - clean waterways depend on community efforts - Come chat on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

The final chat in our 3 part series - Bites on Clean Water - will be on Thursday, October 24 at Big Apple Bagels, 1224 Belknap.  The topic of discussion is how do activities in the community impact our local streams, rivers, and Lake Superior.  Not everyone makes it to the shores of a stream or Lake Superior everyday but with the over 2000 storm drains in our area we are all standing on the shore of streams and lakes via the nearby storm drains carrying materials moved by stormwater runoff down the drain.    What is on our lawns and public spaces can be carried down a storm drain - pet waste, litter, plant debris and other items.  Thanks for helping keep places clean.  Stop in for the discussion Thursday morning.  We'll supply free bagel bites.   You don't need to have attended any of the previous discussions to attend this one. 

-Posted by Wendy Grethen

Hey parents! Bring your kids to the Douglas County Youth Fair!

We'll be there with our super fun water wheel trivia game! We'll also have a door prize and information for you and your kids to take home!  See you there!

Grit and Pipes

I like to hear about communities moving forward and trying new technologies.  More specialized technology is available in many fields of interest.  A newsletter of WERF (Water Environment Research Foundation www.werg.org) came recently and highlights some new technologies.  One item listed was on predicting the remaining economic life of wastewater pipes.  We know the city streets need repairs at time and even that our cars won't last forever.  The miles of pipes within a municipality are another set of materials that has a limited life span. 

Over the bridge in Duluth, more water pipes have broken including near the Radisson Hotel and lead to people have to relocate to another hotel.  What could happen if our wastewater pipes broke?  Some pipes do have some cracks and tree roots are forever trying to do what roots do and spread out.  Some roots find their way into pipes.  What comes to a Wastewater Treatment Plant inevitably includes grit from within the land surrounding the pipes.  The removal of grit is one part of the treatment process at the Treatment Plant.  As for stormwater pipes debris can come from the pipes themselves and what enters the storm drains.  Unlike the pipes coming to the treatment plant that remove the grit, the contents from most of the stormwater pipes go untreated into a river or stream. Any organic matter coming through the drain and entering a stream can reduce the oxygen available to the life in the stream.  At this time of year a pulse of salt (road salt) will likely be entering the drains and travel out to the rivers altering the water quality.  The sand on the road can also enter and travel through the pipes.  Simple sand in a rocky bottom stream is not good for the aquatic life depending on the rocky bottom stream.  The distance the stormwater travels in the pipes and the mixing with contents of other pipes can add a loaded discharge to a stream.  We need to help keep the water as clean as possible so that the rivers aren't polluted from a sediment load.

I'll also use this section to add a verse that about 70 of us (mostly 5th graders) sang at the Mariner Mall last Friday at the Water Fair.   I have since tweaked it a bit.   It goes to the melody Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

I love Lakes and Streams
Their health depends on us
Let's all help to keep them clean
For years and years to come.

The pipes are part of the plan to keep water off the street.  We need to be part of the plan to limit what goes in the drains.  The City of Superior also has an Illicit Discharge Hotline.  Please call it if you ever notice something irregular coming out of a stormwater pipe or see a spill or something going into a pipe. The number is 715-394-2761.    We also have a form at www.ci.superior.wi.us and search for illicit discharge.

-Written by Wendy Grethen

Living Downstream: Local Events of Interest

Are you sick and tired of winter?  If you're anything like me, you've spent winter in hibernation mode at home.  However, now is the time to get out and attend some great educational events!  UMD is hosting Dr. Sandra Steingraber, an ecologist and cancer survivor.  She is a highly acclaimed author and travels the world informing people on the connections between environmental toxins and cancer. 
UMD is showing her film "Living Downstream", an adaptation of her book that details her journey to educate about human health and the environment.  Dr. Steingraber will also be the Women's History Month/World Water Day Keynote Speaker.  Her talk will be entitled "Living Downstream: The Impact of Chemical Exposure on Human Health". 

Dr. Steingraber's topic is near and dear to us as we encourage everyone to be mindful of what goes into the water through the storm and sanitary sewers.  Chemicals are everywhere around us and some can have pretty awful impacts on our health.  So, if you have some free time coming up, check out one of the following events at UMD:

Film Screening: Living Downstream- Monday, February 25th 7 PM in Bohannon 90

Women's History Month Keynote- Monday, March 4th 7 PM in Chem 200


If you're interested in Dr. Steingraber's information and you can't make it to the events, several of her books are available through the Merlin Library System.  "Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment" is available at the Superior Public Library. 

For more information, click here for Dr. Steingraber's website. 

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards