GREENING THE ALCOSAN WET WEATHER PLAN

After several years of work and more than $35 million spent, ALCOSAN has released their Draft Wet Weather Plan for meeting the terms of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree. The preferred plan proposes spending more than $2 billion to construct huge holding tanks under our rivers and a series of smaller tanks throughout the city to trap excess stormwater and wastewater until it can be safely released for treatment. ALCOSAN will be holding a series of public meetings to collect comments and testimony on the plan before it is sent to the EPA for review.

This is set to be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by Allegheny County and we have to make sure we do it right. While building huge septic tanks under the rivers might solve the problem for 10 or 20 years, it’s not a long-term solution. The only way to truly solve the problem is to reduce the volume of water entering the system in the first place and one of the best ways to do this is to implement proven green infrastructure solutions to capture and retain runoff during storms.

STORMWATER SURVEY

These short surveys are part of a study by the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition to better understand the stormwater implications for Squirrel Hill residents as well as business and property owners on Forbes Avenue and Murray Avenue. The information gathered from the surveys will provide a more accurate picture of the stormwater implications in our district as well as serve as a catalyst for future steps toward solutions.

For Business Owners:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BXCJGVC

For Property Owners:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BNDZCN9

For Residents of Squirrel Hill:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5M6KRND

The Stormwater Task Force is a project of Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition’s Parks and Open Spaces Committee.