This is the clearinghouse for the latest news and opinion on stormwater management in the state of Pennsylvania. This site serves as a supplement to our flagship Online Resource Center, www.StormwaterPA.org -- a must visit site loaded with information on Stormwater Best Management Practices, Case Studies, Regulations, Technical Details, and more.

Report Back from the Chesapeake Watershed Forum

Over the weekend, I attended the Chesapeake Watershed Forum in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Organized by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, this annual conference draws together people from states within the Chesapeake watershed (NY, PA, DE, VA, WV, and MD) and well beyond. While StormwaterPA.org continues to do work within the Chesapeake watershed (for an example, check out  Reign in the Rain: Protecting the Chesapeake Bay), we are headquartered in Philadelphia – which is in the Delaware watershed. The take-aways from this two-day conference have vast applications beyond even the Chesapeake, in my opinion. From discussing everything from community involvement to reforestation of watersheds, there was a lot of information to soak up!  And it didn’t hurt that the conference was held in such a beautiful location along the Potomac River (see some of my photos of the area below)!

Here are some snippets from my notes:

• During a more-technical stormwater presentation, California’s “Slow It! Spread It! Sink It!” program was discussed. This simple slogan does such an excellent job at conveying the whole mission of capturing runoff.
• Hilary Falk of the Choose Clean Water Coalition advocated for the importance of eliminating jargon from our communications. Unless you are having a technical conversation, there’s no need to throw around acronyms like “TMDL” and “MS4”. To achieve the goal of protecting clean water, we have to connect our communities to these important water issues. Use easier-to-understand terms to get your message across!
• We lose ~100 acres of forest each day throughout the Chesapeake watershed. YIKES! That’s why I was thrilled to hear about the Chesapeake Forest Restoration Strategy. Trees are one of the most cost-effective ways to protect water from pollution.

One of the best parts of the Forum, though, was getting to talk with so many people who are passionate about water and the local environment. I know that I learned so much from the people I met. If you attended the Chesapeake Watershed Forum, feel free to share some of your lessons learned in the comments!

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