Up Close and Personal with Where Breakfast Comes From
By Kelly Shenk and Matt Johnston
Kelly:
PennAg Industries Association contacted me as soon as I became EPA Region 3′s Agricultural Advisor and offered me the chance to get out in the field to visit three farms. I assembled a team predominantly comprised of Chesapeake Bay Watershed Modelers to learn first-hand from farmers about their success and challenges of growing food in a safe, humane, and environmentally sound manner. PennAg provided an experience that I know we’ll all take with us in our careers and personal lives, as demonstrated by Matt Johnston in this blog.
Matt:
It is all too easy to forget where our food comes from. Every Saturday as a young boy I awoke to the smells of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen. By the time I got to the table, my mother had already set my place with two eggs sunny side up, two pieces of extra crispy bacon, a piece of toast and a glass of milk. It’s a menu familiar to many of us and served weekend after weekend in homes across America.
Never once did I stop to think about how my breakfast got there. Never once did I consider the animal production side of the equation – the side that includes thousands of workers, millions of animals, and tons of feed and manure. Last week while on a tour of farms with colleagues, I was reminded of the other side of that equation in very personal ways.
The first stop on our tour was an egg layer facility. Conveyer belts criss-crossed a three-story tall warehouse seamlessly transporting eggs to an adjacent packing facility from the millions of hens that were stacked in cages and spread out over an area larger than a football field. All the while, another set of belts sent the byproduct of our food production in the opposite direction, depositing the poultry litter in two-to-three story high piles. When confronted with mounds of litter taller than your house, you begin to realize the inevitable byproducts of our Saturday morning meals.
This lesson was repeated at a nursery pig raising facility, where I jumped at the opportunity to hold an adorable young pig when the tour leader offered. Unfortunately, the pig did not share my excitement and promptly announced its disgust by soiling my clothing with manure. All the while, under my feet was a concrete holding tank full of the same viscous substance ready to be pumped out and transported to a nearby field.
Our last stop was a small dairy. There were no large holding tanks or conveyor belts constructing piles. Instead, there was a single farmer with a few small pieces of equipment, a small barnyard, and a few adjacent fields. Without the resources to stack or store manure, the farmer can only do one thing with it – spread it. This is the way farmers have farmed for hundreds of years.
Whether the manure is stacked, buried, or spread, it is real. What is now clear to me is that it is not the devil. It’s a necessary byproduct of our society’s growing consumption of animal products. However, like all byproducts of production, it can be harmful in high doses.
Yet we have the tools to lessen its impact. We can spread manure according to nutrient management plan recommendations. We can plant grasses and trees along waterways to intercept nutrients. And we can work with farmers to make proper storage and handling equipment available.
After all, the manure is not going away, and I’m not going to stop eating eggs and bacon with my glass of milk on Saturday morning.
About the Authors: Kelly Shenk is EPA Region 3’s Agricultural Advisor. Matt Johnston is a Nonpoint Source Data Analyst with the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Exhibit Alert, DC Area! Reclaiming the Edge
By Christina Catanese
Spending the holidays in the Washington, DC area? Already checked out the National Christmas Tree and not sure what else to do with those holiday guests? There is one celebratory exhibit you don’t want to miss.
Recently opened at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways and Civic Engagement is an exhibition on the history, use, and attitudes towards urban waterways. It was created in partnership between EPA, watershed partners, and the ACM.
The exhibition focuses on the Anacostia River and its watershed, and how humans interact with this natural resource in an urban setting. There are also examinations of how people engage with urban waters in other cities – including Shanghai, China; Pittsburgh, PA; Charleston, SC; Louisville, KY; Los Angeles, CA; and London, England – so we can share experiences in diverse geographies.
The exhibition includes an art installation created from trash and found objects which often find their way into urban waterways, historic boats used by Native Americans and contemporary fishermen, large-scale historic photographs of the watershed as the District of Columbia developed, and life-size cutouts of residents, community activists, and leaders in the watershed that tell the story of their connection and stewardship of the river. And interactive portions of the exhibit will engage watershed residents of all ages and backgrounds.
There are also exciting events related to the exhibition, including art and nature workshops for students and teachers, community forums on various uses of the river, monthly films, and even water-inspired dance workshops. The diversity of these programs themselves is a testament to the potential of safe and clean urban waters, and the communities and activities they can inspire.
Even if the Anacostia is not your local river, it’s a perfect opportunity to consider how to re-imagine this urban river for community access and use. Don’t miss the chance to learn about the history and current state of this watershed and how you can participate in its restoration and protection.
Not able to check out the exhibit during the holiday rush? Don’t fret – it’s on display through September 2013, so there’s plenty of time. Here’s how to get to the Anacostia Community Museum.
Let us know what you think of the exhibit if you check it out! And tell us how you engage with and celebrate your urban waterways all year long.
About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
I Speak for the Trees…and the Stormwater
By Jenny Molloy
Most people have a vague recollection, perhaps from a brief fourth grade poetry unit, of the opening lines to Joyce Kilmer’s poem Trees: “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.” Less well remembered is Kilmer’s characterization of a tree as one “who intimately lives with rain.”
An often overlooked fact about trees is that they also do a great job of preventing and reducing stormwater runoff. Depending on the type of tree and the intensity of rain events, trees can intercept as much as 30% of total annual rainfall before it even reaches the ground.
When precipitation does reach the ground, trees’ extensive root systems drink it up. The transpiration rates of trees (or how much water evaporates from the trees) vary notably, but some of the thirstier species can transpire dozens or even hundreds of gallons per day.
That adds up. A New York City study estimated that one tree reduces stormwater runoff by 13,000 gallons per year. That means the 500,000 existing trees in the city reduce runoff by 6.5 billion gallons per year, and 300,000 new trees could remove another 3.9 billion gallons from the overburdened NYC sewer systems.
In Washington, D.C. a similar study estimated that simply using larger tree boxes could reduce annual stormwater runoff by 23 million gallons, and that increasing the use of trees could provide reductions of 269 million gallons per year.
Trees also provide other benefits: shading and cooling that ultimately provide energy savings; carbon sequestration; wildlife habitat; enhanced property values; air quality improvements; community health and safety. And of course, as Kilmer noted, there are aesthetic advantages as well.
Communities who do the math now see trees as a win-win in wet weather management. While trees require capital investment and maintenance, compared to other stormwater controls (which are costly to build and maintain but don’t provide benefits beyond stormwater), trees are often an obvious component of the solution.
The U.S. Forest Service public domain i-Tree family of tools now provides now standard approaches to quantifying the benefits. So for municipal planners, utility managers, regulators and anyone else with a role in controlling the consequences of wet weather, trees no longer need be considered supplemental or boutique elements. They are on the A-list of options.
You too can estimate the value of that oak or poplar in your yard with the National Tree Benefit Calculator: Enter your zip code, choose from a drop-down list of over 200 species, enter the tree diameter and voila! The calculator provides an estimate of overall annual value in dollars, and also breaks that down into specific benefits: stormwater, property value, electricity, natural gas, air quality and carbon dioxide.
Which brings to mind another childhood standard: Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, an allegory illustrating not only the multiple benefits of trees, but also conveying that with a little care those benefits can be realized for a very long time.
Jenny Molloy has been working in Clean Water Act wet weather programs at the state and federal level for nearly 20 years, and has been at EPA for the last 9. She was EPA’s first Green Infrastructure coordinator, and just completed a 2-1/2 year detail to Region III and the Chesapeake Bay Program Office focusing on the stormwater permitting program. She’s an active member of her son’s high school band program just so she can fulfill a life-long dream of being able to say “I’m with the band”.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Our Environment, Then and Now
By Christina Catanese
Have you ever wondered what the places around you looked like 40 years ago? Like, how long has that building been there? Has there always been this much trash in this river? Did there used to be more open space in this area? We’ve asked these questions, too.

From the Documerica Archives: “The Polluted Schuykill River and Center City In Background, September 1973.”
That’s why EPA is reviving Documerica, a photo documentary that captured American life and environmental conditions shortly after EPA’s creation in 1970. We’re not only bringing back the old photos, we’re giving you a chance to give it a modern twist.
In Documerica, photojournalists throughout the country photographed subjects of environmental concern, resulting in a collection of over 15,000 images that gave a snapshot of our environment in the 1970s.
Now, through a photo project called State of the Environment, you have an opportunity to get behind the lens and submit photos that document our lives and our planet today. You can try to match pictures taken 40 years ago with a current shot to mark the changes in your environment, or submit new photos that capture our current decade. Find out here how to participate in this challenge and submit your images through our Flickr page!
You can also check out a selection of the Documerica photos as well as some of the State of the Environment photos submitted so far in a traveling exhibit called Documerica Returns. There are a few places you can catch the exhibit in the southeastern Pennsylvania area in the next few weeks:
- Franklin & Marshall College, atrium of Steinman College Center, now through November 20th
- EPA Philadelphia Regional Office Public Information Center, 1650 Arch Street, November 26th-30th
- Amtrak’s 30th Street Station, December 3rd-14th

From the Documerica Archives: “Oil Spill On Schuykill River, July 5, 1972, Following Hurricane Agnes, Covered Greenery On River Bank, July 1972)”
I’m most curious to see photos of our waterways, then and now. In the Philly area, I’d love to see a match of the pictures of the Schuylkill River in this post.
What places inspire you to grab your camera and capture the state of our world today? What did you find when you browsed the Documerica archives of photos near you 40 years ago – were there any surprises?
About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Gray is the New Green
By Elisa Hyder
Reduce, reuse and recycle. Did you know this common phrase referring to “green” or environmentally friendly practices applies to water?

Every day, water goes down the drain when taking a shower, washing dishes, or simply washing hands. This “gray water” generated from these domestic activities can be recycled for other uses. Gray water is different from tap water that is safe for drinking (white water), and the water from flushing a toilet (black water). Though not suitable for drinking, Gray water contains considerably lower level of contaminants than black water, making it easier to treat and recycle.
The cleaned gray water can be put back into the home for some domestic activities such as watering plants or suppling toilet water. Reusing just a gallon of gray water a day for a year can save enough water for up to 36 showers! And it reduces the amount of drinking water needing to be treatment for human consumption.
However, gray water is not perfect – definitely not safe to drink – and needs to be handled carefully.
- Gray water should only be stored for a limited time. The nutrients and organic matter in gray water start to break down after about 24 hours and can start to emit a foul odor!
- In some cases, the water should not be used unless it has been treated properly with a cleaning system or filter to prevent contamination. This treating process can be done in a variety of ways, some doable in the home or business place. There are both man-made filters and natural systems that gray water can go through for treatment, like distillation and membrane filtration.
- Local public health agencies may have requirements to follow when developing and implementing a gray water system, so make sure you check with local jurisdictions to fully understand local requirements if you’re interested in your own system.
- Check out these helpful FAQs for more on how to use gray water safely.
Learn more about water recycling and reuse here and here! Interested in even more detailed info? Check out EPA’s 2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse – Chapter 2.4.2.1 focuses on Individual On-site Reuse Systems and Graywater Reuse.
Some handy homeowners have installed diversion systems to reuse their own gray water, particularly in drought-prone and remote areas. Water reuse also gets larger buildings points in the LEED certification process; buildings like the Solaire residences in New York City use recycled water from the building for toilet flushing, landscape irrigation and cooling towers. There are even cases where wastewater treatment plants provide their treated water to local businesses for commercial or industrial use, such as Google’s data center in Douglas County, Georgia (check out the video!), irrigating golf courses, and others from a list of reuse projects in New Jersey.
Have you heard of gray water being reused near where you live? Would you try this at your house? Always take care to ensure that you are reusing gray water safely, and check with your local health department if you’re not sure.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
After Hurricane Sandy
By Christina Catanese
Today in Philadelphia, life is beginning to return to normal after Hurricane Sandy. Our buses, subways, and trains are up and running, most of the fallen tree branches have been cleared away from the streets and sidewalks, and the sun has even peeked through the clouds to help us all start to dry out. But our concerns remain with those in other parts of the northeast facing a more difficult recovery. Natural disasters are a reminder to all of us of the power of nature and the importance of being prepared.

Hurricane Sandy's approach to the Northeast United States. Photo courtesy of NASA.
After a storm like Sandy, there are a number of things you can do to stay safe when it comes to water.
- If you have concerns that your drinking water has been contaminated, don’t drink it. Drink bottled water if it is available and hasn’t been exposed to floodwaters. Otherwise, boil your water for one minute at a rolling boil to get rid of pathogens. Learn more about emergency disinfection here.
- Avoid contact with flood water, as it may have high levels of raw sewage or other hazardous substances.
- If you have a private well and it has been flooded, do not turn on the pump due to danger of electric shock. Do not drink or wash with water from the flooded well until it has been tested and deemed safe.
- If you have a septic system and it has been flooded, do not use the sewage system until water in the soil absorption field is lower than the water level around the house.
- For water and wastewater facilities, check out these suggested post-hurricane activities to help facilities recover.
Get more information on what you can do to protect health and the environment after severe weather and flooding.
About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
What’s App? Two New Water Apps!
By Christina Catanese
Two new water apps have recently app-eared on the scene that will help make the health of local waterways more app-arent to citizens everywhere. It seems app-ropriate that both have been launched around the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act – yes, we’re still celebrating clean water!
App-ease your app-etite for data by checking out EPA’s new How’s My Waterway App. This app is a new tool that helps users find information on the condition of their local waters quickly using a smart phone, tablet, or desktop computer. This tool app-roximates your current location with GPS technology (or you can search for the zip code or city of your choice) and shows the assessment status and reported condition of the nearest streams. The app is designed to make water quality data available, and its meaning app-arent, to everyone, with plain-English terms and explanations. How’s My Waterway is app-licable anywhere, from the App-alachian Mountains to App-leton, CA. More background on the tool is available here.
What waterway is the app-le of your eye? What did you find when you looked up your waterway on this app? Was the water quality worth app-lause, or was it more app-alling?
The other new water app, RiverView, gives you a more active role in app-raising the health of your waterway. Developed in partnership with EPA by San Diego-based nonprofit Below the Surface, this app allows anyone to post and view photos of rivers and comment on them using social media, all shown on a map of rivers around the country. This fall, representatives from EPA hit the water (along with federal agencies, paddling and surfing groups, businesses and non-governmental organizations) to launch the app by paddling the entire length of the Anacostia River through Maryland and Washington D.C. With this app, everyone can app-ly themselves to documenting visual measurements of the recreational use of their waters. How app-ealing!
I app-solutely hope you’ll make an app-ointment to show your app-reciation for your local waters and check these apps out! Don’t be app-rehensive!
And, do you app-rove of my use app puns in this blog entry? It just seemed app-ropos.
About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Make Some Noise: the Clean Water Act Turns 40!
By Jon Capacasa
There are all sorts of noises being made in celebration of today’s 40th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

Fire on Cuyahoga River Jun 29, 1969: The Cuyahoga River in Ohio becomes so polluted that it catches on fire. The fire helped spur an avalanche of water pollution control activities like the Clean Water Act by bringing national attention to water pollution issues.
Not the blaring type you typically hear on New Year’s Eve, but rather the noises associated with cleaner water – the squeals of young fishermen hauling in a fish from a local creek… the hum of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant… the crunch of shovels clearing ground for rain gardens and streamside tree buffers… the clang of a cash register ringing up a marine sale… the buzz of a family picnicking along the river.
That’s music to the ears of those of us who remember when we faced health and environmental threats in our waters that are almost unimaginable by our standards today.
Since 1972, the Clean Water Act has kept tens of billions of pounds of raw sewage, chemicals and trash out of our waterways, and we’ve doubled the number of waters that meet safety standards for swimming and fishing.
In my travels around the Mid-Atlantic Region, I’ve seen the impressive work we’ve done with watershed groups and many of our other partners to improve the quality of our waters. The number of folks engaged in cleanup efforts for their local waterway is at an all-time high. And the results have been overwhelming.

Black Water Falls, West Virginia
Migratory fish can now travel the full length of the Delaware River due to major increases in oxygen levels. A major interstate program is now place for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, including a landmark pollution budget. Green infrastructure techniques are sprouting up in our major cities and small communities as a cost-effective way to control stormwater pollution and improve community livability. And economic development along urban waterfronts has burgeoned, like the famous Baltimore Inner Harbor and along the Anacostia River in Washington D.C., driven by commitments to cleaner water.
In every corner of the region, we have initiatives underway to protect our most irreplaceable resource, producing environmental, economic, community and public health benefits.
We’ve come a long way. But there’s much more to do. And we need your help to continue the progress and take the next steps.
- Check out our recent blog on things you can do to protect and conserve water.
- Visit the Clean Water Act 40th Anniversary website at www.epa.gov/cleanwater40, join a special Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EPAWaterIsWorthIt, and follow on Twitter @epawater to learn about anniversary events, to share your stories or to read more about the Clean Water Act.
- And try out EPA’s brand new How’s My Waterway mobile web tool to learn the condition of your local waters and the efforts underway to restore them.
So what does clean water mean to you? Let us know.
Author’s Note: Jon Capacasa is director of the Water Protection Division in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.


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