The Save the Rain Program in Onondaga County, NY: A Case Study of Green Infrastructure Implementation in Upstate New York Madison M. Quinn, Project Coordinator Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection July 13, 2017
Presentation Overview Background Save the Rain program overview Green infrastructure projects Green infrastructure projects Education and outreach Triple Bottom Line benefits environmental, social & economic Water quality improvements National and regional recognition Questions
Onondaga County & Syracuse
Onondaga Lake Facts Watershed: 285 square miles 1 mi. Wide, 4.6 mi. long Average Depth: 35 ft. Max Depth: 63 ft.
Save the Rain Program Overview County Executive Joanie Mahoney wanted a better way to meet environmental goals without building more Regional Treatment Facilities (RTFs) Green STR Gray Combined approach gray and green infrastructure
Green Infrastructure Projects Over 190 projects advanced to date (2010-2017) Variety of green infrastructure technology, project size & land ownership Almost 130 million gallons captured annually
Green Infrastructure Technologies
Green Parks County and City
Green Park Lewis Park
Green Park Lewis Park Collaboration with Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation, 1 of 5 Courts4Kids park renovations to date
Green Streets Water St. Gateway E. Washington St. W. Onondaga St.
Green Streets Concord Place
Stormwater Reuse Cisterns/Rain Barrels
War Memorial Arena Cistern System
War Memorial Arena Cistern System
Triple Bottom Line Benefits Social STR Economic Environment
Community Benefits from Save the Rain Collaboration between municipalities & public/private partnership help stretch dollars Social & economic benefits to streetscape revitalization, park improvements, etc. Educational opportunities visitors to zoo, schools, public facilities Green jobs installing & maintaining green infrastructure assets (public and private)
Save the Rain Education & Outreach www.savetherain.us Onondaga Earth Corps (OEC) GI maintenance, peer education for youth, rain garden demo projects Tree Planting Cornell Cooperative Extension & OEC Workshops rain barrel, rain garden, maintenance Baltimore Woods Nature Center Nature in the City 3 rd grade education program Block Litter & Connect the Drops anti-litter campaigns Social media Facebook, twitter, Instagram, YouTube
Water Quality Improvements Remarkable recovery, greatly improved water quality in Onondaga Lake
Fish Communities of Onondaga Lake Greater diversity than years past 53 species of fish identified by county sampling
National and Regional Recognition US EPA Green Infrastructure Community Summit, cohosted by Onondaga County & US EPA U.S. Water Prize NYS Environmental Excellence Award NYWEA Public Education Award StormWater Solutions Magazine Top Stormwater Project (Rosamond Gifford Zoo) 2013 US Water Prize Ceremony
Questions? Please visit our website: www.savetherain.us/drops Follow @SaveTheRainUS on Twitter & @savetherain.us on Instagram Like Onondaga County Save the Rain on Facebook: facebook.com/savetherainus Subscribe to savetherainus on YouTube