17. LID DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON MUNICIPAL PROPERTY
Overview
Municipal properties provide the ideal setting to pilot and demonstrate low-impact development (LID) and water conservation techniques. Sites such as town halls, schools, and playing fields are highly visible and frequently visited by community members. Implementing demonstration projects on municipal properties also lends credibility to efforts to promote LID and water conservation on private properties through regulatory and economic approaches. In addition, innovative projects installed at public schools provide a unique opportunity for students to learn about environmental science.
Demonstration projects might include: green roofs on schools and town halls, environmentally friendly landscaping and gardens around public buildings, soil enhancement and efficient irrigation at parks and playing fields, porous pavement at municipal parking lots, installation of water-efficient devices such as composting toilets and rain barrels, and use of LID techniques for stormwater control such as rain gardens and vegetated swales.
Local Examples
Nine major LID and water conservation demonstration projects are currently under development in the Ipswich River watershed under an EPA Targeted Watersheds Grant received by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Many of these projects are located on municipal properties. For example, the Wilmington town beach parking lot at Silver Lake will be redeveloped with subsurface infiltration media and porous pavement, and monitored to assess impacts to groundwater quality. Also at Silver Lake, the negative impact of three stormwater outfalls to the lake will be reduced by redirecting stormwater from the surrounding neighborhoods away from the storm sewer system and into rain gardens, grass swales, and pervious pavers installed in the public right-of-way. This retrofit will be monitored for improvements in stormwater quality and reductions in stormwater volumes.
In North Reading, a municipal ball field complex located adjacent to the Ipswich River at the Ipswich River Park will be redeveloped to minimize irrigation requirements and fertilizer and pesticide applications through soil enhancement, the use of drought-resident turf, and innovative weather-based irrigation controls. In addition to North Reading, the towns of Reading, Hamilton, Middleton, and the city of Peabody are installing weather-based irrigation controls on municipal ball fields to evaluate water savings. Lastly, a green roof will be installed at the Whipple Annex, a building adjacent to the Ipswich Town Hall that is being converted into affordable housing for seniors. The building is on long-term lease from the town to a local housing trust. This project will be monitored to determine the volume of water stored by the green roof during rain events and the quality of runoff relative to conventional roofs.
Demonstration gardens and other environmentally friendly landscaping projects have been implemented at several schools in the watershed. For example, the Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) and the Topsfield Conservation Commission partnered with Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield to plant low-maintenance gardens of native shrubs and plants at the school’s main entryways. In Danvers, the Holten Richmond Middle School has been LEED-certified as a green school, with students and teachers forming a Green Team to promote environmental projects. The school was a pilot site for development of the Massachusetts High Performance Green Schools Guidelines. IRWA is also implementing water-friendly demonstration projects, including rain gardens, a permeable parking lot, a rainwater harvesting system, and water-efficient fixtures and appliances, in its new Riverbend headquarters in Ipswich.
Resources
Ipswich River Watershed Association, Keeping Water Local at Riverbend (html)
US Green Building Council, LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (html)
Water Wise Communities: Index
- Introduction & Using the Handbook
- How Development Affects Water (link to IRWA site)
- Checklist: Is Your Community Water Wise?
- Water Wise Tools:
