On Saturday, April 24, the Village of Spencerport was the scene of a pilot program put together in conjunction with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County. Highway Superintendent Tom West, village employee Donna Stassen, and village resident Pat Chapman were key in organizing this event. Recently, the EPA passed several strict regulations that will impact every town and village, making them responsible for the quality of their storm water. Storm-water runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snow-melt flows over the ground. The National Water Quality report states that runoff from urbanized areas is the leading source of water quality impairments. Proper monitoring of this outfall is essential to keep the quality of the water where is should be. Highway Superintendent Tom West serves on the Storm Water Coalition of Monroe County. Kimmie Romeo, volunteer coordinator from Cornell Cooperative Extension, explained, "An outfall is the place where water from storm-water catch basins empties, usually into a stream or creek. Monitoring this outfall is essential for EPA compliance. Residents who live near one of these outfalls were asked to inspect the outfall four to six times a year, particularly after heavy rains, during drought times and during melting snow and ice. If any illicit water has gotten into the system it would be immediately caught. For example, if a pipe is leaking underground it might not be discovered right away, but with volunteers monitoring these outfalls it will be caught quickly." Unfortunately, the manpower it would take to properly monitor this water is beyond the possibility of most villages and towns. In Spencerport alone, there are 40 outfalls; the Town of Greece has literally hundreds. An idea was suggested to invite residents to volunteer to help in this effort and Tom West volunteered Spencerport to kick it off. The April Day of Caring was a convenient vehicle to launch this initiative. Village of Spencerport Mayor Ted Walker, Town of Ogden Supervisor Gay Lenhard, local NYS Assemblyman Bill Reilich, and NYS Senator George Maziarz joined village trustees, local business owners and residents to learn about storm-water runoff and to help beautify the village. Businesses including IGA, McDonalds, Byrne Dairy and Pontillo's donated food and/or money to help feed the crew of over 80 volunteers. Litter was cleaned up and close to 200 trees were planted along the canal bank. These trees, obtained at a discount from Monroe County Soil and Conservation, will help prevent erosion of the banks. Other volunteers stenciled the words "DO NOT DUMP" on 276 stormwater catch basins. This is to remind residents that items such as grass clippings and car washing water all are illicit and should not be allowed to go down these drains. That waste will wind up in creeks and streams. |
