PEOPLE/AWARDS

The National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies announced the recipients of Green Infrastructure Awards. They include:

• Small Population, first place: Manchester Stormwater Park, Kitsap County Public Works, Port Orchard, Washington;
• Small Population, second place: Durkees Run Stormwater Park, Williams Creek, Indiana;
• Medium Population, first place: Point Defiance Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility, city of Tacoma, Washington;
• Medium Population, second place: East 14th Street LID Improvement Project, city of Chattanooga, Tennessee;
• Large Population, first place: Space to Grow: Greening Chicago’s Schoolyards, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago;
• Large Population, second place: Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project, Water Services Department, Kansas City, Missouri; and
• Top Overall Project: Low Impact Development (LID) Best Management Practices (BMPs) Testing and Demonstration Facility, Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, Riverside, California.

Joseph Pearce is the new Public Works director for Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Previously, Pearce was a utilities administrator in Durham County, North Carolina, where he first served as stormwater division manager and then utilities division director before becoming deputy director of engineering and environmental services. Before working in Durham County, Pearce served in what is now the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in roles dealing with stormwater and industrial wastewater.

The city of Cape Coral, Florida, received a $600,000 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for stormwater improvement projects. Cape Coral said it will use the funds to upgrade about 300 catch basins and install enhanced swales in a 725-acre area west of Burnt Store Road as part of the North 2 Utilities Expansion Project. The new catch basins will enhance water quality by enabling more stormwater runoff to filter into the ground rather than flowing directly through storm drains into the canal system, and ultimately into Charlotte Harbor. Charlotte Harbor is a natural estuary and the state’s second largest bay.

Lauren McLean, a councilwoman in Boise City, Idaho, was named to the second annual Grist 50, a list of “fixers — bold problem-solvers working toward a planet that doesn’t burn and a future that doesn’t suck.” Among her many responsibilities, McLean helps manage LIV District, an initiative that has deployed more than $5 million in public funding toward stormwater infrastructure, geothermal expansion and park entrances for bikes in the Central Addition neighborhood.

The Jefferson Park Constructed Wetland project in Waynesboro, Virginia, won the 2017 Best Urban BMP in the Bay Award, presented by the Chesapeake Stormwater Network. The awards recognize the best BMPs that have been installed in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Waynesboro and the Timmons Group worked together to construct the Jefferson Park Constructed Wetland Project.

Protecting the Little Miami River, the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District in Xenia received the Governor’s Award from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association for its environmental approach to replacing its agency headquarters parking lot. Environmental elements incorporated into the new parking lot include a rain garden, bio-swale, permeable pavers, oil interceptor and trench drain, and more than 1,000 native perennial plants from 12 species.

The city of Wilmington, North Carolina, was recognized for three different initiatives to clean up stormwater runoff. The Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Award Coalition presented the city with awards for these projects:

• Stormwater Demonstration Site in Anne McCrary Park: The park is an educational site for people to learn about ways to capture and naturally clean stormwater with soil and plants. The site includes a rain garden, native plants, shade trees, grassy swales, rain barrels, pervious walkways and pavement that allows water to drain through to the soil.
• Raintree Stormwater Wetland: A drainage ditch on city property was converted to a functioning wetland in the Raintree Neighborhood. The wetland absorbs and filters polluted runoff from the neighborhood, allowing it to soak back into the ground instead of running off into Hewletts Creek. The wetland is also helping to alleviate some nearby flooding.
• DREAMS Bioretention Area & Pervious Pavement: The city, North Carolina State University and DREAMS collaborated on a federal grant to install pervious pavement, a large rain garden and native plantings in order to naturally clean stormwater before it flows into nearby Burnt Mill Creek. DREAMS, located on city property at 10th and Fanning streets, is a nonprofit agency serving Wilmington youth.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Florida

The American Water Works Association is offering a seminar titled Effective Utility Management on Sept. 21-22 in Orlando. Visit www.awwa.org.

Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is offering Essentials of Hydraulics for Civil and Environmental Professionals seminar on Oct. 11-13 in Madison. Visit epd.wisc.edu.

CALENDAR

July 16-19 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 2017 Annual International Meeting, Spokane, Washington. Visit www.asabe.org.
Aug. 4-6 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Younger Member Leadership Symposium, ASCE Headquarters, Reston, Virginia. Visit www.asce.org.
Aug. 6-9 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Pipelines Conference, JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix. Visit www.asce.org.
Aug. 27-30 American Public Works Association PWX (Public Works Expo), Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. Visit www.apwa.net.
Aug. 27-31 StormCon: North American Surface Water Quality Conference & Exposition, Meydenbauer Center, Seattle. Visit www.stormcon.com.
Sept. 18-20 National Rural Water Association WaterPro Conference, Reno, Nevada. Visit www.nrwa.org.
Oct. 8-11 American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 Convention, New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans. Call 800/548-2723 or visit www.asce.org.
Nov. 5-9 American Water Resources Association Annual Conference, Red Lion on the River-Jantzen Beach Hotel, Portland, Oregon. Visit www.awra.org.
Nov. 6-9 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Operation & Maintenance of Stormwater Control Measures, Denver. Visit www.asce.org.