1. HOME PAGE
2. About the Program
3. Staff
4. Projects & Programs
5. Recent Presentations
6. Water Pages
7. Fact Sheets
8. E-learning Tools
9. Useful Links

Fixing Flooding: One Community at a Time

Fixing Flooding: One Community at a Time
Innovative Solutions using Green Infrastructure

Friday, February 26, 2016
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Hosted at the Middlesex County Fire Academy
1001 Fire Academy Drive, Sayreville, NJ 08872

CONFERENCE BACKGROUND:  Flooding, even from small storm events, has been affecting the quality of life of New Jersey’s residents.  Based upon a preliminary land cover analysis of New Jersey, the state has covered 12.1% of the land with impervious surfaces, which is 1,055 square miles of impervious cover or 675,200 acres of impervious cover.  During a one-inch rainfall event, 18.3 billion gallons of stormwater drains from these surfaces.  Many of these impervious surfaces are directly connected to our local waterways, meaning that every drop of rain that lands on these surfaces drains directly to a stream, river, lake, or bay without any treatment or having the opportunity to infiltrate into the soil.  Pollutants accumulate on these impervious surfaces and are washed into New Jersey's waterways during storm events.  Additionally, these impervious surfaces prevent rainfall from infiltrating into the ground to replenish the state's aquifers.  Limited infiltration of rainwater results in reduced base flow to the local streams that rely on groundwater during the dry summer months.

Green infrastructure can be used to reduce the impacts from these impervious surfaces.  Green infrastructure practices such as porous asphalt, bioretention systems, and rain gardens can be very effective at capturing, treating, and infiltrating stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces.  Green infrastructure practices also can provide an opportunity to collect and use rainwater for non-potable uses.  Many green infrastructure practices provide ancillary benefits such as providing pollinator habitat, sequestering carbon, reducing the heat island effect, and improving air quality.

Over the last several years, green infrastructure practices have been implemented across New Jersey.  These projects have clearly demonstrated the effectiveness and resiliency of green infrastructure technologies.  Water resources planning over the last 12 years has resulted in the creation of regional stormwater management plans, watershed restoration and protection plans, green infrastructure feasibility studies, and impervious cover reduction action plans.  All of these plans are good tools to identify opportunities for retrofitting existing development with green infrastructure practices.  Green infrastructure technology has proven to be a cost effective means to reduce the impacts of impervious surfaces.  The final step is to further empower local communities to advocate for green infrastructure and to implement practices.

PURPOSE:  The purpose of the conference is to educate stakeholders and engage them in addressing the impacts of stormwater runoff from impervious cover.  The workshop will acknowledge on-going efforts by the Sustainable Raritan River Collaborative and showcase their work.  It will also provide attendees an opportunity to network and develop new partnerships so they can better achieve the goal of a sustainable Raritan River Basin.

REGISTRATION:  Registration will close at 11pm on Friday, February 19th!

We have requested continuing education credits for professional planners (APA), licensed landscape architects, floodplain managers, and public works managers; engineers can self-report CEUs for this conference. 5 CECs for CFMs and 6 contact hours for CPWMs are available. Click here for more information.

COST:  $25 per person; scholarships are available

DIRECTIONS:  click here

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:  click here

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES: click here

AGENDA:

8:00 - Continental Breakfast/Registration

8:45 – 9:00 - Welcome

9:00 – 10:00 - Impervious Cover Project for Climate Resilience in New Jersey – Christopher Obropta, Rutgers

10:00 – 10:30 - Networking Break

10:30 – 12:30 - Presentation Tracts:  These are traditional presentations designed to increase knowledge and awareness and promote behavior change.  Participants are encouraged to change tracks throughout the morning.

12:30 – 2:00  - Lunch, Networking, Poster and Booth Exploration

2:00 – 4:00  - Workshop Tracks:  Interactive presentations where the audience can work together to learn about planning, promoting, implementing, and maintaining green infrastructure in their community

4:00  - Adjourn – Thanks for coming!

COSPONSORS:

• Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC)
• Duke Farms
• Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
• Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve
• Jersey Water Works
• Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership
• Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership
• Middlesex County Office of Planning
• New Jersey Future
• New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium
• New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute (NJWRRI)
• New Jersey Water Supply Authority
• NY/NJ Baykeeper
• Raritan Headwaters Association
• Raritan Riverkeeper
• Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
• Sustainable Raritan Collaborative