The Allegheny and Westmoreland County Conservation Districts and their partners are hosting a Local Green Infrastructure Tour on June 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. starting and ending at the Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd in Monroeville.

Can planting trees and making sidewalks out of concrete that’s porous reduce a community’s need to build a water-treatment plant?

You bet.

And not only that, installing these and other kinds of green infrastructure practices can also help reduce the risk of flooding and improve water quality, too.

Take a closer look at a variety of green infrastructure practices that are already in place and doing the job of managing stormwater in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

Sponsored by the Westmoreland and Allegheny County conservation districts, Jacobs Creek Watershed Association, and 3 Rivers Wet Weather, the tour will visit:

--  Detention pond retrofit at the Monroeville Public Library;

-- Unique, quarter-acre porous asphalt parking lot at Southmoreland High School;

-- Eight different stormwater management practices in a half-mile section of Scottdale (including a porous pavement alley, two kinds of rain gardens, Silva Cells™, and bioswales); and

-- Streambank swales, rain gardens, porous pavement, and riparian buffers at Westmoreland County Community College.

Stormwater management experts, project engineers, and municipal officials will be on hand to explain the features of each practice, its effectiveness in capturing stormwater, how the installation was funded, and how it is maintained. Information also will be provided on scientific monitoring of the practices.

The tour will stop for lunch at the West Overton Museum in Scottdale, where a boxed lunch will be provided.

There is a nominal charge for the event. Seating is limited and registration is due by June 15.  Click Here to register online.

Funding for this event is provided in part by the PA Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., through a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection under section 319 of the Clean water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information, look for the Local Green Infrastructure Tour on the Westmoreland County Conservation District website.

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[Posted: June 6, 2018]

6/11/2018