Improving Water Quality with Innovative Stormwater Techniques

Improving Water Quality with Innovative Stormwater Techniques

Friday, March 19, 2010, 8:00-9:30 am
McKnight Foundation, 710-2nd Street South, Suite 400, Minneapolis, 55401
Transit and parking information are available at http://www.mcknight.org/about/offices.aspx.

Joni Giese, SRF Consulting

There’s no question that stormwater runoff’s impacts on water quality are receiving more and more scrutiny. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering strengthening its stormwater regulations, and, locally, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) projects likely will require significant changes to how we handle stormwater runoff throughout the region. What are some approaches that communities can use to effectively implement stormwater improvements? Are there certain techniques that just won’t work in our climate? Landscape architect Joni Giese will discuss how creek daylighting and green infrastructure projects are now being used to address water quality in new- and redevelopments, and will highlight several successful Minnesota examples. Join us for this conversation, as well as a demonstration of how the stormwater BMP cards that Ms. Giese helped develop can lead to innovative stormwater solutions for your area.

Joni Giese, ASLA, is a Senior Associate at SRF Consulting Group, Inc. with broad expertise in incorporating stormwater treatment techniques into project design and implementation. Major projects she has worked on include the public and stormwater amenities in Minneapolis’ Heritage Park, which transformed a 145-acre site into an affordable, sustainable urban neighborhood. Ms. Giese also helped to develop the Water Quality Manual: Improving the Water Quality of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul for the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, which includes a unique series of easy-to-use Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) “flash cards.”

Light breakfast provided. Free.

The Mississippi River Forum is made possible by the generous support of the Mississippi River Fund and the McKnight Foundation.