Webinar: Developing Resilient Stormwater Systems with a Municipal Downspout Disconnect and Green Infrastructure Program

Presentation Date: November 15, 2021
10:00am-11:30am ET

Watch Video Recording Here

Approved for 1 CEC for Certified Floodplain Managers by ASFPM. Registrants must have attended the full duration of the live broadcast on November 15, 2021 to receive a certificate of attendance. Each viewer must register and attend individually, and participate for the entire duration of the webinar. Attendees, please contact adavis02@syr.edu to request a certificate of attendance.

Increasing intensity and duration of rainfall events and impervious surfacesare causing runoff that can overwhelm stormwater and combined stormwater/sewer systems. High flows into aging, undersized systems can result in localized flooding and overwhelming flows to municipal water treatment facilities.

One strategy to reduce runoff into stormwater systems is to implement municipal downspout disconnect and green infrastructure programs. Disconnecting downspout connections and redirecting the water to green infrastructure reduces runoff into pipes and roads and results in: cost savings for wastewater utilities, decreased combined sewer overflow events, reduced demand on already stressed and aging pipes, and reduced stormwater runoff in neighborhoods and local waterways.

This free, 90-minute webinar provided an opportunity for municipalities to learn about the regulatory, financing, and implementation of a coupled disconnect/GI municipal program from experts who have experience working with municipalities to implement these types of projects. Participants learned how these approaches can – and have – helped NYS communities manage their stormwater.

Speakers

  • Andy Sansone, Industrial Waste Engineer, Monroe County Stormwater Coalition/Monroe County
  • Khris Dodson, Associate Director, Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center
  • Kristen Hychka, Research and Outreach Specialist, NYS Water Resources Institute

Panelists

  • Ethan Sullivan, MS4 General Permit Coordinator, Assistant Engineer, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Dave Gasper, P.E., Stormwater Permits Section, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Mary MacSwan, Chief Environmental Compliance Specialist, Erie County: Department of Environment & Planning/Western NY Stormwater Coalition
  • Nancy Heinzen, Program Coordinator/Coalition Director, Stormwater Coalition of Albany County

Additional Resources:

Resources Handout

Presentation slides:
Kristen Hychka, NYS WRI, Introduction to Municipal Downspout Disconnection
Khris Dodson, SU-EFC, Getting the Green for Green: an overview of Cost Savings & State Funding Resources for Green Infrastructure

For more information on developing a Downspout Disconnect and Green Infrastructure Program, download the resource below. This document was developed in collaboration with the Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center and the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University.

Developing a Municipal Downspout Disconnect and Green Infrastructure Program

This webinar is organized by Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center and the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University and is co-sponsored by the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) Stormwater Committee and New York State Floodplain and Stormwater Managers (NYSFSMA).