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.

The Role of Trees and Forests in Managing Municipal Stormwater

Tuesday June 5, 2012, Noon to 1 pm

As our landscapes change, it has an impact on the health of our streams and rivers. What to do on the land, or what we cover it with, affects the quantity (volume) and quality (pollutant levels) of the rainfall that enters our waterways - what many call stormwater. When it rains in urban and suburban areas, rainwater washes pollutants such as nutrients, chemicals and heavy metals off paved surfaces, lawns or bare soils into storm drains that lead to streams and rivers. Because of the increased amount of these impervious surfaces, larger quantities of rainwater reach the streams quickly causing flash flooding, stream bank scouring and sedimentation of streambeds. Stormwater from urban and suburban areas has become a major pollutant in Pennsylvania impairing 4,170 miles of streams and accounting for one third of the problem facing our waterways.

So how to do these municipalities begin to reduce stormwater runoff and the pollution associated with it? Well, they can increase the size of underground pipes and the capacity of their sewage treatment plants- which might cost billions of dollars. Or, they can begin to look for greener and cheaper solutions! One of those easy solutions involves the planting of large canopy trees.

Join this webinar for all the details: 

https://meeting.psu.edu/pacommunityforestry (click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser window).  Login in by registering as a guest (type your name).

• The site is active and you can test the link now. Join as a guest using your first and last name. There is no login or password for participants.
• You will need speakers or a headset to hear the webinar audio, but you will not need a microphone.
• It is HIGHLY recommended that you join the meeting early so that we can troubleshoot any audio or video technical difficulties.  A host will be available at the meeting site at 11 am that morning to assist you.
• You may be prompted to download an Adobe Connect add-on when you first enter the meeting room. You may choose to do this or not; you should be able to participate in the webinar either way.

This session has been approved for 1 International Society of Arboriculture CEU, 1 Society of American Foresters Category 1 CFEand 1 American Society of Landscape Architecture CEU .

Please visit www.pacommunityforests.org  to watch archived Lunchtime Webinars at your convenience.

NOTE: This webinar was developed through a partnership of Penn State Extension, DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Pennsylvania Community Forests and USDA Forest Service.

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