Storm Water Management
By Kris Polly
Storm water management is a constant concern for municipalities. Sudden influxes of water, often bringing pollutants of various sorts, can overflow systems, challenge treatment infrastructure, and affect the environment. Luckily, municipal water professionals are working to design ever better systems, develop innovative mitigation technologies, and find funds to improve infrastructure.
Our cover interview this month is with John Verduin of Anchor QEA, a firm that specializes in challenging projects in the environmental science, engineering, planning, and restoration fields. AnchorQEA incorporates environmental concerns into its work from planning and design through construction and monitoring.
Amber Ponce of LiveRoof tells us about how her company’s green roofs mitigate storm water runoff while also cooling buildings and providing aesthetically pleasing spaces for events and recreation.
Greg Yeoman of Enviropod introduces his company’s simple and effective LittaTrap, a catch-basin insert that traps garbage before it enters storm water collection systems. By trapping waste, including the minute resin beads used in plastic manufacturing, on the sites where it originates, the LittaTrap reduces strains on treatment facilities and protects the environment.
Scott Montross, Heather Christensen, and Mike Wray of Northwest Pipe Company tell us about its Perfect Pipe and Perfect Lined Manhole products, two new lined-concrete products whose corrosion resistance makes them ideal for conveying storm water or wastewater.
Finally, we speak with Tia Cavender and Fernando Gonzalez of Dig Deep Research, a consultancy that helps municipalities and agencies secure capital funding for water infrastructure projects. Dig Deep’s new Grant Pursuit Strategy service provides a roadmap for municipalities to identify which grants they should pursue and in which order.
Using everything from concrete and high-density polyethylene to living plants and soils, municipal water professionals are creating new ways to handle storm water. I hope that this issue informs you about new developments in the field, and maybe even gives you a few ideas for your own system. Keep in mind—if something will be seen, it should look nice.
Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He can be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.