The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments is one of several agencies that will receive grant funding to help clean and protect the Great Lakes.
SEMCOG will be awarded $500,000 for its Restoring the Lake Erie Corridor Through Green Streets program, which will be used to construct bioswales, tree trenches, and grow zones to manage stormwater runoff. The funds will also go toward reducing stormwater runoff volumes and sediment, the development of a Great Lakes Green Streets Guidebook, and installation of signage.
Amy Mangus, SEMCOG's coordinator of environmental programs, explains that our roads are one of the region's largest impervious surfaces, so managing stormwater runoff is important. "Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 pollutant source to our rivers and lakes, and if we all enjoy recreating in our rivers and lakes, we need to keep the pollution out," she says.
One project to which SEMCOG will be passing funding will be a bioswale, similar to a ditch but with vegetation, into which stormwater will be directed. Also slated for funding are grow zones in Wayne County, similar to areas of vegetation that filter stormwater runoff along Hines Drive.
The grow zones and bioswales replicate nature, acting like a natural filter before the water seeps back into the ground. "It's all about trying to bring back the balance of nature into a more urban area," she says. "The purpose is to protect our rivers and lakes so we can enjoy them and recreate in them."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the grants as part of President Obama's $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. A total of 99 grants for an estimated $63 million are expected to be awarded in Michigan; locally, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Wayne State University will also be receiving funding. Priorities are cleaning up toxic material, combating invasive species, protecting watersheds, restoring wetlands, and outreach.
Source: Amy Mangus, SEMCOG's coordinator of environmental programs
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
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