Piedmont Connect Looks at Rainwater Options

From a Piedmont Connect press release:

Tuesday afternoon, March 20, found a dozen members of Piedmont Connect and Piedmont city staffers checking out examples of how other East Bay cities have handled rainwater and storm flows. Some cities are using plants to slow and clean the water before it flows into creeks and San Francisco Bay.

On a three-site tour of Emeryville and Oakland stormwater projects, the group met first with Peter Schultz-Allen from Emeryville and viewed a redesigned section of Adeline Street between 40th and 46th. The handsome redesign includes a bike lane, better pedestrian safety measures, and street corner
planters — some of which have been designed to slow and treat storm flows.

Schultz-Allen explained that Emeryville in using plants that can tolerate a great deal of winter wet to slow and sink stormwater that would otherwise have streamed into the storm drains. He pointed out features of the project as
the group walked along several blocks of Adeline Street and viewed a rain garden cross from Emeryville City Hall.

By trapping the storm water for a time in planted areas along the edge of the paved street, the water has a chance to seep into the ground in a more natural flow pattern. Some water is used by the plants and the rest is cleansed by the soil and slowly released into the storm drain system.

As done along Adeline Street, the plantings can often be designed to include pedestrian safety elements — a win-win for the local residents and the environment.

Peppered by questions by the knowledgeable group, Schultz-Allen showed them the best examples of where this system is working and also shared lessons learned, such as where the project had to overcome a few early design flaws.

The last stop was at the lovely and functional rainwater catchment project along Oakland’s Lake Merritt at the Lake Chalet. Bruce Wolfe, Piedmont resident and executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, explained project features.

It uses a combination of pervious pavement and a large swale of plants to catch most of the stormwater running off the new parking areas and nearby street. By the time water reaches Lake Merritt, much of it has already been used by the
plants and is cleaner than when it started.

Additionally, the project includes a planted “living roof” on a utility building that both beautifies the building and slows and treats the building’s runoff.

The group ended the day with a lively discussion of ideas about how Piedmont might use similar multi-benefit projects in the future to both make our streets safer and help clean up our creeks, Lake Merritt and the Bay.

For more information about this or other projects, contact us at piedmontconnect@gmail.com or visit the website www.piedmontconnect.org. Piedmont Connect is an organization of local citizens working toward a sustainable future.

Did you go on the Piedmont Connect "field trip"? What impressed you most? Tell us in the comments section below.

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