Harrisburg Unveils Draft Green Infrastructure Plan To Cleanup Water Pollution Dec. 6, 15

Capital Region Water will unveil its draft Community Greening Plan, an approach to reducing water pollution stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows through developing green infrastructure, at public meetings on December 6 and 15 in Harrisburg.

After a year of listening to hundreds of city residents, businesses, and community organizations Capital Region Water developed the plan that focuses on identifying areas of opportunity for green infrastructure and assessing the feasibility of implementation in Harrisburg.

A green infrastructure system uses natural filtration to reduce runoff thereby reducing flooding and pollution caused by runoff and sewer overflows and creating multiple community, economic and environmental benefits with a single investment.

The initial public meetings on the draft Plan will be held--

-- December 6: Camp Curtin YMCA, 2135 North 6th Street in Harrisburg from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and

-- December 15: Lincoln School, 1601 State Street in Harrisburg from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

If you need an additional incentive, there will be free food offered.

As with other water utilities serving older, industrialized cities, Capital Region Water has entered into a partial consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice to address water quality issues related to discharges from the combined sewer and municipal separate storm sewer systems that it manages.

The partial consent decree requires Capital Region Water to develop a plan to reduce runoff pollution entering the Susquehanna River and Paxton Creek, employ operation and controls for the system, and implement early action projects to ensure that the city becomes compliant with the federal Clean Water Act and the state Clean Streams Law.

While the main purpose of green infrastructure is to manage stormwater, the transformative nature cannot be ignored. Not only are the region’s waterways poised to benefit from a green stormwater infrastructure master plan, but so are the residents, businesses, and visitors of Harrisburg.

Click Here to watch a short video about this new approach.

For more information and to provide comments, visit the Capital Region Water’s Community Greening Plan webpage.

Find out more about using green infrastructure to solve water quality problems by examples in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pittsburgh and Lycoming, Monroe and York counties.  And through the experience of the Western PA Conversancy, LandStudies and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA.