A New Federal Construction Push: Wetlands

Some people like to call them swamps — usually folks who want to turn them into concrete developments.

Others call them wetlands, for their abilities to reduce flooding and filter out contaminants that run off of city landscapes.

The fact is, you may not like wetlands or swamps (mosquitoes), but they do a lot of good. The next time it rains, watch the water run off of a driveway, sidewalk, street or nearby parking lot. That water used to go into wetlands, depending on where you live. Now it goes into sewer systems, and often ends up being flushed untreated, or only partially treated, to rivers and lakes.

What to do, short of “The World Without Us“?

Many cities are turning to constructed wetlands, which can’t replace the natural work of Mother Nature, but can do a pretty good job of keeping contaminants out of waterways that supply drinking water, fishing and good ol’ recreation.

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A 2008 State of the Nation’s Ecosystems study by the Heinz Center found that developed land increased from 15 million to 60 million acres from 1945 to 2002, and America’s freshwater wetland area has declined by 9 percent since 1955. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just launched a Healthy Watersheds Web site.

America’s $787 billion stimulus package includes $6 billion for wastewater infrastructure upgrades, including funding for so-called green infrastructure projects. The money supplements federally funded low-interest loans to communities, so some of the borrowed bucks don’t have to paid back.

Cities like Topeka, Kansas, have had success with green infrastructure. An inch of rain in Topeka translates to 940 million gallons of stormwater, according to The Conservation Fund.

Topeka officials teamed up with state agencies and nonprofits a number of years ago to use constructed wetlands, vegetated swales and other practices to contain and treat stormwater.

The partnership they formed, called Green Topeka, now treats sewage and prevents flooding by filtering stormwater through native plant systems.

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