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Why a clean Lake Erie matters

Submitted by Marc Lefkowitz  |  Last edited September 17, 2008 - 12:47pm
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  • Why is it important that we support the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s pledge to form a regional stormwater authority? Like other authorities, it will recommend a fee structure for homeowners and business based on how much paved surface we have on our property, which contributes to polluted rivers and lakes. Here’s the ‘why is that important?’ part. A new comprehensive study led by the USGS looked at the health of all freshwater fish species in North America and found that nearly 40 percent are in jeopardy. Nineteen fish species in the Great Lakes region are imperiled, including the lake sturgeon. Unchecked, stormwater runoff is a major threat to the health of Lake Erie and its fish, Noah Hall writes in Great Lakes Law Blog.
  • Portland 'greens' its curbs with a bioswale So, you read the above post and think, “I want to avoid a stormwater charge by making my property greener, more sustainable, but when I try, my city tells me it has an ordinance that prevents me from doing “X” (gravel driveways, downspout disconnect, rain barrels, and bioswales on the tree lawns). NPR reports this morning that a neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona started making bioswales in their tree lawns – cutting a channel out of the curb and planting native plants and trees fed by stormwater. It wasn’t legal by city code. But they did it anyway. This is the second instance I’ve heard of a ‘green curb’ or tree lawn (Portland, Oregon started it – legally).
  • For perhaps the first time, U.S. Presidential candidates are discussing the economic and ecological value of restoring the Great Lakes. NPR reports that the candidates – perhaps courting the swing states of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin – are making the $5 billion Great Lakes Restoration Plan part of their campaign.
  • Aside from greening our urban spaces, managing farms and animal feedlots will have the largest impact on our drinking water. Tons of fertilizer and manure, when left unchecked, run into rivers and streams. The Ohio Environmental Council started a letter writing campaign focused on tightening the oversight by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which assumed the duties of the Ohio EPA.