The Great Lakes Water Authority’s (GLWA) 40-year Wastewater Master Plan is a significant step towards a new, regional, cooperative approach to improve water quality. Of special interest to Erb is the plan’s recommendations on green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and other strategies to manage Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). Erb co-convened a joint virtual meeting of its...
Tag: Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure Makes Detroit More Beautiful
Green stormwater infrastructure initiatives are bringing together neighbors, improving water quality, and making Detroit more beautiful.
Land + Water WORKS
Janlynn Miller, a long-time resident on Detroit’s east side, is a natural educator who understands the importance of peer learning. Janlynn is one of 40 ambassadors trained through the Land + Water WORKS Coalition to teach their neighbors about GSI and help them install rain gardens and rain barrels. The ambassadors receive a performance-based stipend,...
Museum Stormwater Initiative Launch
On November 14, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American history and Michigan Science Center launched the Ripple of Impact: Museum Stormwater Initiative. Guided by research showing that museums are trusted spaces for learning and conversation, the event brought together diverse perspectives on water access and stewardship in Detroit. The Museum Stormwater Initiative centers...
DPTV Secret Gardens
Detroit’s innovative bioretention gardens were featured in “Secret Gardens,” produced by Detroit Public Television’s Great Lakes Bureau and aired February 28, 2018 through the PBS Sci Tech Now program. A 2015 Erb grant helped create The Great Lakes Bureau to create, curate and distribute timely, topical stories about the Great Lakes ecology, economy and cultural history, building...
Water Catchment Systems in Detroit’s Urban Agriculture Community
Farmers and gardeners across Detroit implemented innovative rainwater harvesting systems, learning solutions that would conserve both water and money. The integration of water stewardship into urban agriculture is one example of the many ways that grassroots communities are informing the sustainability movement. Video credit: Cass Corridor Films.
Bug hunts and water quality
Certain bugs (stoneflies and other benthic-macroinvertebrates) and other wildlife indicate the health of our rivers. Identifying these insects is a perfect job for volunteers; it’s fun and builds environmental stewardship, while providing a cost-effective data set. Annual bug hunts and frog and toad surveys organized by watershed organizations engage more than 600 volunteers each year. Some...
Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Detroit
Every day, residents, city leaders, nonprofits, and the business community are innovating green stormwater infrastructure solutions to prevent untreated sewage discharge. Video Credit: Oren Goldenberg, Cass Corridor Films. This video was commissioned in partnership with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
Welcome to Detroit: Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Video by Cass Corridor Films. This video served as the opener for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Green Infrastructure Conference, held in Detroit from May 31 – June 2, 2017. Commissioned in partnership by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, it highlights and celebrates the collaborative...