Communities Consider 'Green' Alternatives for Runoff Control
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
27 November 2011
By Bob Bauder
Etna's moment of stormwater clarity happened with Hurricane Ivan
in September 2004.
The storm inundated about a fourth of the borough, an Allegheny
River community with about 3,400 residents just upstream of
Pittsburgh, Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said.
Water, 8 feet deep in places, flooded about 400 homes. At the
borough building on Butler Street, water was up to the light
switches.
"We started talking about things where we could help ourselves,"
Ramage said.
Etna has joined a growing roster of municipalities to consider
green initiatives to reduce stormwater runoff and cut down on the
9 billion gallons of untreated sewage that pour annually into
rivers from area communities, mostly during heavy storms.
The borough will begin a green streetscape project next year
designed to eliminate up to 20 percent of run-off from storefronts
along one block of Butler Street.
Downspouts that run into the sewer system will be redirected into
rain gardens and a rain park, landscape designs that can hold and
absorb water. Officials are considering a residential program
using rain barrels.
In older communities such as Etna, rain water and sewage run
through the same pipes.
Heavy rain overwhelms the systems and sewage then flows untreated
into rivers.
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority estimates it will cost the
83 communities in its system as much as $3 billion to $8 billion
for traditional infrastructure — pipes, holding tanks and bigger
wastewater treatment plants — to meet federal and state mandates
for drastically reducing sewage overflows. The money would come
from ratepayers through increased sewer bills.
Under the law, ALCOSAN and the communities must have new systems
in place by 2026.
Construction is expected to begin in five years, and that's when
sewage rates will escalate. Shaler Manager Timothy Rogers, who was
among a panel of experts discussing the problem at Carnegie Mellon
University last week, said rates would at least double.
On its website, ALCOSAN says that in 2012 a homeowner using 15,000
gallons of water per quarter will pay $73.15.
Green projects — things such as rain gardens, rain parks, rooftop
gardens and vegetated swales — are becoming more attractive as
communities calculate the staggering cost of traditional
infrastructure.
Pittsburgh has sponsored rain gardens in Perry South, Mount
Washington and Brighton Heights as part of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's
Green Up Pittsburgh project. Run-off from the August Wilson
Center, Downtown, is collected beneath a sidewalk and waters the
roots of trees planted along the street.
Growing movement
Shaler recently completed a large rain garden fronting its
municipal building to absorb run-off, Rogers said. The garden is a
demonstration project to teach other communities. The garden can
absorb up to 2,000 gallons of water during a storm.
Heidelberg Mayor Ken LaSota said the borough plans a
three-block-long rain garden along Route 50 to absorb water that
typically pools on the highway.
Mt. Lebanon this year became the first community in the region to
enact a stormwater fee — about $8 per month for an average
homeowner. Residents can get up to $50 off their stormwater bills
if they install such things as rain barrels.
Local supporters say they hope green projects will be cheaper than
traditional water management methods, but with Western
Pennsylvania's hilly topography, that's still a theory.
"We need to get more green infrastructure in the ground to get a
really good handle on the costs and benefits," said John
Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, a nonprofit
created in 1993 to help Allegheny County communities deal with
aging sewage infrastructure and stormwater problems.
Other benefits
Janie French, director of green infrastructure for the
Pennsylvania Environmental Council's southwestern office in
Pittsburgh, said trees, vegetation and flowers used to absorb
rainwater improve community aesthetics. Trees and rooftop gardens
reduce heating and cooling costs, she said.
"We need to think about what can we do on top of the ground to
manage rainwater where it falls, versus putting it in pipes," she
said. "The green solutions ... are not going to totally solve the
problem, but they're going to help an awful lot."
Ramage said Etna will spend about $400,000, most of which comes
from a state grant, for its streetscape project on the north side
of Butler Street between Bridge and Freeport streets. Sidewalks
there will feature brick pavers, which allow water to drain
through. Four rain gardens will absorb the water. Engineer Donald
Newman said the project would remove up to 20 percent of run-off
in that block.
"People say, 'Oh my god Mary Ellen, that's such a small amount (of
water),' but the point is we have to start somewhere, and we have
to help ourselves," Ramage said.
"This is a permanent solution, and it's taking the water out at
its source."
Bob Bauder can be reached at bbauder@tribweb.com or 412-765-2312.