Author: David Dickson

Role of Riparian Buffers in Watersheds and in Your Landscape

April 17th, 2023 1:00-2:00PM Presented by: Juliana Barrett and Chet Arnold; UConn CLEAR Emeritus In this presentation by Juliana Barrett and Chet Arnold we will explore what riparian buffers are and why they are a critical component of both our coastal and inland communities. Riparian buffers play a critical role in water quality and watershed protection, provide […]

Land Use Academy Advanced Training Session Recordings

UConn CLEAR’s Land Use Academy held a series of three Advanced Legal Procedures virtual training sessions for land use commissioners in February. The sessions included (1) Bias, Conflict and Predisposition; (2) Running a Meeting and Making A Decision; and (3) Fair and Affordable Housing. The session were presented in collaboration with the CT Bar Association. […]

New Template for Mapping Your Stormwater System

A new tool is available to make it easier for communities to create or enhance a map of their stormwater system. The CT GIS Network‘s Standards Committee has collaborated with the CT Department of Transportation (CTDOT)to develop a Stormwater System Mapping Template. The template provides a framework for mapping everything from your catch basins to […]

You’ve Got the Whole Atlas in Your Hand

The NEMO program’s National Low Impact Development (LID) Map is an interactive resource for finding examples of LID like green roofs, pervious pavements, and bioretention areas. These approaches to stormwater management help prevent flooding and water pollution by encourage infiltration into the ground instead of runoff. First launched in 2008, the site now has 1,400 […]

NEMO Program to Help Communities Navigate the New Stormwater Permit

  CLEAR’s venerable, award-winning NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) Program is embarking on a five-year program to assist Connecticut communities in complying with the state’s revised “General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems,” or the MS4 permit. Stormwater runoff is a major source of flooding, erosion and […]

CLEAR’s 2015 Family Update Letter

Like ugly sweaters and fruitcake, the family update letter is a wonderfully annoying/possibly charming holiday staple. Here is our contribution to that time-honored tradition.  (Note:  In keeping with tradition, this post may have been embellished a bit.): Chet Took his first sabbatical after 28 years at UConn. Scoped out a few promising spots to plant a […]

Where Are We? Winter Fun With Maps

I don’t know about you, but I am starting to feel the first tendrils of the winter blues creeping in. While we haven’t had much snow (yet), the cold has certainly kept me inside more than I’d like. With football season ending and March Madness still a ways off, I’m on the lookout new distractions. […]

Sewage Overflows Help Make Case for Greener Infrastructure

The historic rainfall that hit the east coast this week had some pretty nasty impacts. From flooding in Florida to a stunning street collapse in Baltimore, the images were remarkable.  Here in CT we experienced a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours leading to sewage overflows into Connecticut’s rivers and Long Island Sound. In addition […]

LID vs Green Infrastructure

If you deal with stormwater issues or land use planning, chances are you have heard the phrase “green infrastructure” mentioned a lot recently. It is rapidly replacing “Low Impact Development” (LID) as the phrase du jour in the stormwater biz. But before we all go willingly adopting this into our lexicon, we must first ask […]

Goodbye GPS Unit, Hello Smart Phone

Smartphones are the swiss army knife of the digital world. They have replaced countless single-function gadgets from calculators to cameras to pagers to, um, phones! But for mapping geeks, one of the gadgets they have not quite been able to shake is the handheld GPS unit, at least until now. The Geospatial Training Program at […]

We Got Your LID Examples Right Here!

Interested in Low Impact Development (LID), but want a better sense of what it looks like? Well, have we got the tool for you – the National NEMO Network’s National LID Atlas contains nearly 850 examples from 28 states! For the uninitiated, low impact development (LID) practices include rain gardens, pervious pavement, green roofs, rain barrels, […]

NEMO U8 A Tentacular Success

UConn CLEAR, in partnership with the Northland NEMO program, held the 8th NEMO University (a.k.a NEMO U8) conference in Duluth, MN last month. The conference brings together outreach professionals from around the country, primarily from programs modelled after the CT NEMO program, to share innovative approaches and ideas to working with communities on land use and water […]