Creating a Rain Garden in Your Yard- Workshop at Fairlawn Mansion

Fairlawn Mansion is doing a series of Garden Talks on Thursdays from 6:00-8:00 PM.  On April 4th, Sue O'Halloran from Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve will be giving a presentation on creating a rain garden in your yard.  We will also be presenting a webinar about rain gardens in April (go here for registration and date). 

So what are rain gardens?  They are shallow depressions intended to collect and slow rain water that runs off your roof.  They are planted with wetland plants or wet prairie plants.  The type of plants used depends on your soil type.  Here in Superior, we're a part of Lake Superior's red clay plain. 

Rain gardens protect stormwater quality and are aethestically pleasing as well.  Consider learning more about rain gardens at the Fairlawn Garden Talk or at our webinar.  For more information on rain gardens, please see the links and video below. 

A local video about a rain garden in Duluth, produced by Minnesota SeaGrant.


City of Superior Rain Gardens

Duluth Streams Rain Gardens

Wisconsin DNR Rain Gardens

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Great Lakes & Lake Superior Water Fair

Check out the video from Northland's News Center about our Water Fair!


See the article here.

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Celebrate World Water Day!

March 22nd is World Water Day!  World Water Day has been celebrated on March 22nd since 1993.  It was established by the UN Conference on Environment and Development.  World Water Day's purpose is to "focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources" (UN, 2013).  The theme of this year's World Water Day is cooperation, since 2013 has been designated as the International Year of Water Cooperation.

Here are a few water facts from the UN:

• 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.
• 6 to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water-related diseases.
• Water availability is expected to decrease in many regions. Yet future global agricultural water consumption alone is estimated to increase by ~19% by 2050, and will be even greater in the absence of any technological progress or policy intervention.

 

So what can you do? Don't pollute water and encourage others to keep water clean too.  You can also conserve water by checking your home plumbing for leaks, using a rain barrel, taking shorter showers, etc.  Check out a post we did here for more water conservation ideas.  If we all work together to conserve water now, we could have fewer water cooperation issues down the road.

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

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

Where's the Concern?

Great Lakes Echo asks its readers to identify an Area of Concern highlighted by a video each week.  Check out this week's Area of Concern below...I think it will look pretty familiar.



Area of Concerns (AOCs) are spots in the Great Lakes basin that have environmental degradation.  The St. Louis River AOC has several beneficial use impairments (BUIs), including:

Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption

Excessive Loading of Sediment and Nutrients

Degradation of fish and wildlife populations

Beach closings

Fish tumors or other deformities

Degradation of aesthetics

Degradation of benthos

Restriction on dredging activities

Loss of fish and wildlife habitat (US EPA)

For more information about the St. Louis AOC, visit the following sites:

US EPA
Great Lakes Commission
Wisconsin DNR
Lake Superior Binational Forum

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Reminder: Webinar TODAY about the Stormwater Permit

Check out the third installment in the Environmental Matters Webinar Series: MS4 Permit.  Diane Nelson, the City of Superior Stormwater Coordinator, will be explaining what the permit is, why we have it, and how YOU can get involved!  Don't forget....for each webinar a City of Superior resident attends before June 1, 2013, they are entered into a drawing for a FREE rain barrel!

Go to the registration page here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/251882479

 

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Take the Fix a Leak Week Pledge!

The fifth annual Fix a Leak Week is March 18th-24th!
Gallons upon gallons of water can be wasted through small leaks in your home. Fix a Leak Week is a good time to check your home for leaks.  The following steps from the US EPA tell you how to check for leaks:

1. Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank and seeing if the color appears in the bowl before you flush. Don't forget to check irrigation systems and spigots, too.

2. Twist and tighten pipe connections. To save even more water without a noticeable difference in flow, twist in a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator or showerhead.

3. Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for the WaterSense label when replacing plumbing fixtures, which signifies the product has been certified to save water and perform well.
Source: USEPA

Teachers: Take the Fix a Leak Week pledge for your group or classroom and receive a Certificate of Participation! See here for details.

For more information about Fix a Leak Week, see here.

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Stop in and see us at the Housing Expo! You could win a rain barrel!





 Stop in to the Housing Expo at Mariner Mall on Saturday between 10 AM and 3 PM.  We will be there with information about rain barrels and rain gardens.  We will also have a raffle to win a rain barrel.  

 

 

 

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Save water and money with a rain barrel!

Spring and summer are great.  Sunshine, warm temperatures, blooming gardens....all things that we like to see.  However, those bulbs you plant need water to make your yard the talk of the town.  With all the other expenses of summer like high gas costs and vacations, doesn't it make sense to save a little money wherever you can? 

Instead of watering your garden from the hose off your home, purchase a rain barrel from our Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Sale.  Rain barrels capture water that runs off your roof and into your gutters and store it to be used at a later time.  When it's time to water, hook a hose to your barrel or fill a watering can from the spigot.  If the summer is dry, like much of Wisconsin experienced last summer, you can keep your plants perky with your stored water that came to you free from the sky.  Rain barrels also help keep local water bodies clean by diverting water that would typically go into the storm drain and out to the lake.       

We're also selling compost bins and accessories, including a compost turner and a kitchen scrap collector.  Composting keeps food waste out of landfills and improves soil by adding organic matter back into the soil. 

So....fill out an order form HERE or check out our website HERE. We will accept orders until May 24th, 2013 and have your items available for you on June 11th from 12:30-7:00 PM at Wessman Arena. 

The sale is sponsored by the City of Superior Environmental Services Division and UW Superior.

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

St. Louis River Estuary Summit

This week, some of us from ESD attended the St. Louis River Estuary Summit, hosted by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).  It was a great opportunity to learn about the research people are doing in and around the St. Louis River Estuary and best of all, it was free and open to everyone!
There were a lot of interesting presentations at the Summit, but I think my personal favorite was given by the students from South Shore School District in Port Wing.  The students presented the monitoring work that they were doing as a part of their aquatic biology course.  I was pretty amazed at all the great things they were working on.  It was really inspiring to see how well-informed they are as high school students.  Another great thing I learned from that portion of the program was the work that LSNERR is doing with teachers.  The education coordinator, Deanna Erickson, took teachers on a field trip over the summer and they learned about many aspects of the St. Louis River.  It is a great opportunity for teachers to get their students actively involved with the outdoors. Click here to see more on the LSNERR site.
There were so many interesting presentations.  As a relative newcomer to the area, I felt as though I learned a lot about the history of the area and some water quality challenges that are dealt with here.  I'm sure even people who are involved with some of the research found it extremely beneficial and informative.  So, plan ahead to attend the summit next year!  You'll be amazed at the amount of research and collaboration that's happening in your own backyard!

Thanks to Lake Superior NERR for putting on such a great program!

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards