District Staff to Speak at Special Vandergrift Public Meeting

Posted on 20 April, 2010

Topic: Managing Stormwater

Members of the Westmoreland Conservation District staff will be among those speaking at a special public meeting of the Vandergrift Council on Monday, April 26, at 7 p.m. at the Casino Theatre.

Jim Pillsbury, hydraulic engineer, Kathy Hamilton, landscape architect, and Mike Hamilton, stormwater grant coordinator, will be presenting a variety of things that residents can do to manage rain water in their neighborhoods – from putting a rain barrel under one of their roof’s downspouts, to adding an innovative flower garden called a “rain garden.”

Managing rain water (also called stormwater) helps to lessen the amount of water that flows into a community’s storm sewer system. This is particularly important in older communities such as Vandergrift, where systems were put in place years ago, when it was acceptable to have stormwater flow into the same system that carried sanitary waste.

Today, we recognize the problems with that thinking, which often sends sewage into the rivers and streams. Many communities, including Vandergrift, are taking steps to improve water quality by separating the two sewer systems and installing measures that allow rain water to infiltrate into the ground. A good example of the latter is the new tree-planting project on Columbia Avenue in Vandergrift (see separate news release).

Homeowners also can help by taking steps to manage the rain that falls on their property.

In addition to the staff of the Westmoreland Conservation District, Vandergrift officials and the municipal engineers, Bove Engineering, will be at the April 26 meeting to discuss more about what Vandergrift is doing on this subject.

The meeting is open to the public and everyone is invited to attend.

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