There wasn’t a cheap and simple way to take field measurements of Total Nitrogen (TN). Samples had to be sent to a lab – until now! To help reduce water quality testing costs, CT DEEP agreed to allow MS4 communities to use less expensive field tests for nitrate and ammonia to estimate Total Nitrogen. If […]
Author: Amanda Ryan
No coal-tar pavement sealants in Connecticut (for the most part)
You know what they are – the tried and true sources of stormwater pollution like dog poop, lawns with fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide applications, poorly maintained septic and sewer systems, or improperly maintained construction sites to name a few. Once in a while something new gets added to the list, here in Connecticut in recent […]
CT’s First Stormwater Utility!
Earlier this summer, New London became the first municipality in Connecticut to establish a stormwater utility which goes into effect January 1, 2019. This means they will begin charging all property owners a fee for their contribution to the city’s stormwater runoff. Previously, New London relied on property taxes to fund maintenance of their stormwater […]
Another win for rain gardens
It’s well known that rain gardens are great for infiltrating stormwater but people may not realize that they also help destroy common stormwater pollutants. Several studies have found that rather than accumulating pollutants in their soils, rain gardens tend to biodegrade them instead. One study (LeFevre et al., 2011) investigated petroleum hydrocarbon levels in 58 […]
Light Nights
Is light pollution high on your list of concerns? With so many disturbing developments happening globally, light pollution probably doesn’t hold a candle to your worries about accelerating climate change, failing governments, or spreading superbugs. Nevertheless, we are learning more about the impacts of light pollution and there are people in many fields including ecology, […]