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North Natomas is a unique community within the City of Sacramento that
features rural surroundings, open spaces, and wetland habitats all within minutes of the
busy downtown area. An extensive system of drainage canals and stormwater
detention basins have been built to drain this natural flood
plain, provide flood protection, maintain water quality, and at the same
time provide aesthetic amenities to the community.
The Problem
Street drains carry water directly from street gutters into the local
detention basins and then into the Sacramento River. Although these basins
will filter out pollutants, the water is not treated or cleaned. The
detention basins are not sewers.
Background
In
October of 2001 the Board, in coordination with the City of Sacramento,
received a Pollution Prevention Incentives for States grant for $50,000
from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to conduct an
integrated multi-media pollution prevention outreach program in the City's
newly developing North Natomas area. The grant required a match of $15,000
in funds from the Board and in-kind staff services from the State and City
partners of $35,000 for a total of $100,000. The grant provided funding
through October 2004.
Program Overview
The transfer of pollutants across all environmental media coming from
urban landscape management practices were addressed in this program.
Activities focused on developing landscape design/water use guidelines and
distributing educational materials to promote the use of environmentally
beneficial landscape management practices that will prevent stormwater
pollution from toxic chemicals, prevent runoff and conserve water, and
reduce the flow of greenwaste debris into the storm drain system. Outreach
activities were directed at new homeowners and professional landscapers
working on publicly supervised landscapes sites or commercial and
residential properties in North Natomas.
Project Objectives
- Develop North Natomas Plant Spacing Guidelines. Plant
spacing guidelines for new plantings of trees and shrubs were developed
for incorporation into the North Natomas Development Guidelines for use
on new residential, commercial, or public landscape plantings in the
North Natomas area. Also, water budget data and on-site watering
practices guidelines were established for use on publicly maintained
sites.
- Prepare and Distribute Informational Materials to Homeowners.
Educational and promotional materials were prepared and distributed to
new homeowners at locally sponsored outreach activities and events in
the North Natomas area. These materials included information on the
following topics: local green waste diversion and source reduction
opportunities; design features and installation techniques for
low-maintenance, drought tolerant, waste efficient landscapes;
environmentally friendly landscape maintenance practices; and using
urban-derived organic materials in landscape applications.
- Coordinate Educational Outreach for Professional Landscapers.
Outreach events and activities directed at local professional
landscapers were implemented and coordinated with allied public and
private sector agencies, as well as distribution of appropriate
educational materials that promoted waste/water efficient landscape
maintenance practices and green material diversion options.
- Compile Report and Publish Results. A final report was prepared
and distributed to all stakeholders after all program tasks had been
completed. The report described and discussed all activities undertaken
to achieve the stated program objectives. An assessment and evaluation
was made on the effectiveness of these activities in promoting the use
of environmentally beneficial landscape management practices and
reducing green waste generation in the North Natomas area.
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