There’s a new look to EPA’s Chesapeake Bay “pollution diet” website.

The pollution diet, or Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), was established by EPA in December 2010, based largely on action plans provided by the watershed’s six states and the District of Columbia.

The website now has a greater focus on activities at the local level happening around the 64,000-square-mile Bay watershed to reduce pollution impacting the Bay and its vast network of connecting rivers and streams.

One of the new additions is a brochure produced by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Local Government Advisory Committee featuring examples of local actions to cut nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution.

Check out those case studies and the other new items on the site, and let us know what you think.

EPA is helping local drinking water and wastewater utilities bring down one of their biggest controllable costs – energy.

In a series of free webcasts and other outreach activities this year, the Water Protection Division in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region is offering tips and tools for more efficient energy use at your local treatment plant.

 To get a sense for how your local water sector utility can reduce its energy costs, tune in to the latest EPA webcast being offered to plant operators and the public on Thursday, December 1 at 1 p.m.   This one will focus on reducing operating costs through energy use assessments and auditing.

 Improving energy efficiency is an ongoing challenge for drinking water and wastewater utilities.  Energy costs often represent 25 to 30 percent of a treatment plant’s total budget.

 The December 1 webcast will help plants focus on two key elements of energy management – determining how much energy the utility is using in each part of its operation, and conducting an energy audit to identify opportunities for greater efficiency and cost savings.

Join us on December 1 to learn more.

Maybe it is the calming sound of water moving, whether down a waterfall or crashing onto a beach.  Any real estate agent knows that property near water, whether an ocean, lake, river, or stream, commands a higher price. But, with rising sea levels and stronger, more frequent storms, those prime water side properties may now be in danger of flooding, not just once every 100 years, but once every few years.

What is a homeowner to do after a flood? Sell (if they can) or stay? Many choose to stay put, figuring the benefits outweigh the costs of shoveling mucky mud out of their basement and maybe even the first floor, as well as other personal and financial tolls..

Did you know there are even contractors now who deal with renovating flood- susceptible buildings? Their floodproofing techniques include:

• Replacing gypsum and plasterboard walls with concrete
• Covering floors with stone, concrete or ceramics, not carpeting
• Rearranging rooms — putting the kitchen, laundry room, and electric box on the second floor (known as an “upside down house”)
• Running electrical lines not near the floor, but higher up on the wall

Homeowners are advised to use only lightweight, easy-to-move furniture in the basement and on the first floor. It’s a case of adaptation — minimizing the damage that might occur during the next flood.

These techniques are being applied in many areas of the Northeast where this fall we had the double whammy of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. In Pennsylvania, an emergency declaration was issued for more than half of its counties and parts of Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg and other areas close to rivers were evacuated. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and its federal counterpart, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provided assistance.

 FEMA has developed a Homeowner’s Guide to Retrofitting if you would like to learn more about floodproofing techniques.  And EPA has a variety of information and links on what to do before, during and after a flood.  http://www.epa.gov/naturalevents/flooding.html

The most ‘app’ealing entries in EPA’s Apps for the Environment challenge have been announced.

We gave you a heads up about the challenge in a blog post earlier this year. Click here to read it.

The challenge encouraged new and innovative uses of EPA’s data to create apps that address environmental and public health issues.  Developers from across the country created apps with information on a variety of topics, including water protection.   A few even developed games to help people learn environmental facts.

Click this link for information about the winning entries and other submissions. http://appsfortheenvironment.challenge.gov/submissions

Many homeowners use chemicals to fertilize their lawn in the fall. These chemicals can get washed into rivers, lakes and streams by rain causing negative impacts to those water bodies.

 
Did you know there is a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly way to give your lawn a nutrient boost? Plus the supply is free, endless and consistent?

 
The answer literally grows on trees. LEAVES! Leaves are packed full of many nutrients that people pay hefty prices to spray on their lawn.

 
Instead of getting out the rake in the fall, get out the lawnmower. Set the height to around 3” and mow right over the leaves. Let the clippings lie where they are. The leaves will decompose and deposit nutrients that will feed your lawn for months to come.

 
Give it a try and let us know how it works for you!