We've all heard the expression "can't see the forest for the trees," but when's the last time you can remember it applying to yourself?  As a stormwater engineer, I've spent 15 years focusing on the design of natural systems and manufactured devices that treat and/or infiltrate post-construction runoff, and there is ample opportunity to get lost in the minutiae associated with these technologies.  The constellation of my profession is comprised of many stars, including such esoteric details as discrete pollutant removal efficiencies, land use implications, dissolved metals speciation, and operational head loss.  As fascinating as I find these topics, however, it's all too easy for me to get lost in the complex specifics and lose focus on the big water quality picture of which they are merely a part.  Stormwater management goals and outcomes affect society at large, and it therefore makes sense that the first two of the six minimum control measures of the NPDES Phase II requirements are:

1. 公众教育拓展
2. Public Participation/Involvement

All the fancy engineering stuff I do with post-construction runoff control doesn't get mentioned until number five.  With so much of the contributing infrastructure literally underground, it shouldn't be a surprise that most people don't immediately consider the vast network of drainage pipes, treatment systems, and infiltration galleries that they drive across when heading to the grocery store.  Nor do they necessarily recognize the function of the bioretention cell between the parking spaces or the pervious pavement beneath their feet.  On the other hand, almost anyone living within the reach of a permitted MS4 has seen a "No Dumping, Drains to River" sign installed on a catch basin.  In actuality, basic public education is far more effective and powerful a tool in the management of stormwater runoff than the most sophisticated treatment or infiltration BMP.  While considering this, I recalled one of my own "forest for the trees" moments.

It was a rainy Saturday morning, and I had stopped by the office with my then 4-year old daughter to catch up on some work that I had neglected to finish during the preceding week.  We had visited the library first to load up on books so she would be occupied for a couple hours while I sat behind a computer monitor.  After a little while, she called me to come look out the window, where a small construction crew was excavating a narrow utility trench leading to one of the offices on the other side of the parking lot.  The backhoe was bringing up chunks of red-brown earth from the subsurface, and the rain was washing the silty soil directly to a low-lying catch basin, leaving a long, muddy stain.

看上去像巧克力牛奶

泥沙冲进渔盆时我解释道 水沟穿透管道到构造湿地后楼后, 青蛙、鸟和水鸟大栖息地。“它们应该做更多工作控制泥土,保护动物院安全。”

回想我所完成的设计时,我只简单想一想如果我对面时会发生什么。一小段时间后,我完成了作业,我们整理书籍和零食并朝汽车方向走去。我加载车辆时,我的女儿开始步行到建设区。我追逐她并用恐惧和钦佩之情看着乘务工前人并指向滑坡的泥土。

“你应该做得更好,确保泥不流进排水沟中”,她表示,“它全部冲进湿地并捣乱鸟和青蛙的家和的家!

令我惊讶的是,工头刻意地看着她并尖锐地说,“你说得对,这是不良实践,我们会做得更好。”

几分钟内安装了稻草小叉和滤波织物,巧克力牛奶污迹停止流到湿地,我离开时为我小女儿感到骄傲并惊叹公共拓展的简单能力(如果对自己未能管理它感到有些难堪的话 ) 。

While I'd like to recommend a spirited four-year old to every municipal phase II permit holder needing to fulfill their public outreach and involvement requirements, the truth is that most of these entities lack the resources to build independent stormwater education programs.  This is why it is critical to support the non-profit and volunteer networks that perform these crucial duties.  I live in Vancouver, Washington, where the City contracts through a great example of such an organization, the Vancouver Watershed Alliance, to meet some of its outreach needs.  Through neighborhood grants, homeowner incentives, and visible, public projects, this group's advocacy does more to mitigate the negative effects of stormwater runoff than the most complicated engineered, post-construction system I've ever designed.  And there are hundreds of such organizations across the country, fulfilling a vital role in the advancement of our societal water quality goals.

以暴水专业人员的身份,我们都发挥个体作用促进清洁水环境。 然而,公众教育和社区参战是我们应该参与的部分,如果我们真想实现我们的目标的话。

图片来源:温哥华分水岭联盟,艺人:Jamie Lutz