Sustainability Ambassadors 

Tracy Tackett | Seattle Public Utilities

SUMMARY: Before our roads and houses were here, the native evergreen forests and prairies that covered our Pacific Northwest landscape slowed and cleansed rainwater and helped it soak into the soil to recharge groundwater and replenish our creeks and rivers. Over the past 150 years, we have lost a great deal of this ecological function. We know now that the polluted runoff from impervious surfaces in urban areas is the number one threat to water quality in Puget Sound, that it’s toxic to salmon and other wildlife, and causes other problems like sewer overflows and flooding. This talk provides an overview of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) in Seattle. GSI is an approach for mimicking the way in-tact forest and prairie ecosystems manage rainfall, to prevent stormwater pollution and make our neighborhoods greener and more livable at the same time. The talk invites everyone to be part of the solution by committing to managing 1000 gallons of runoff annually with GSI.

Learn more about SustainabilityTALKS here.

BIO: Tracy Tackett, PE is the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Program Manager for Seattle Public Utilities. She is responsible for the management, direction and decision making for capital improvement projects and significant policies focused on using GSI to reduce the effects of Seattle’s urban stormwater runoff on our receiving water bodies.

LINKS:

Information for residents and property owners on rebates, grant funding, installation and maintenance of Green Stormwater Infrastructure: www.700milliongallons.org

Information on GSI projects built by Seattle Public Utilities in the public right-of-way - www.seattle.gov/util/greeninfrastructure

Information about Seattle-wide policy and 5-year strategy to accelerate Green Stormwater Infrastructure adoption. www.seattle.gov/environment/water/green-stormwater-infrastructure

You can check out SustainabilityTALKS on our Youtube and Vimeo channels too!

Posted by peterdonaldson50 on May 9, 2016 at 11:09 PM

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