December 7, 2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Presented by Cary Chadwick & Emily Wilson, UConn CLEAR
Connecticut Trail Finder is a free, interactive mapping site designed to help Connecticut residents and visitors find publicly accessible hiking, walking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and paddling trails across the state. It is a critical resource for trail managers, allowing them to provide the public with up-to-date, comprehensive information about their trails through individual trail listings that allow users to view a digital trail map, get essential information, submit trip comments and photos, and connect with other users. But what is the best way to collect trail data these days? This webinar will focus on Avenza Maps, a free mapping solution for iOS and Android devices. The broad features of the app will be demonstrated in the context of trail mapping for managers and trail stewards whose overall goal is to collect information to share broadly with the public through the Connecticut Trail Finder website.
Nov 2, 2022
Presented by Chet Arnold & Qian “Rachel” Lei-Parent, UConn CLEAR
It’s well known that there is a close relationship between watershed health and land use. Until now, however, statewide or other large scale examinations of this relationship have been limited to what can be determined using moderate resolution (30 meter) land cover data. Using amazing new high resolution (1 meter!) land cover for Connecticut provided by NOAA, CLEAR has developed an interactive online watershed health assessment tool that operates at a much finer level. The tool, which pays particular attention to land cover within the riparian corridor, calculates an overall health index and a nitrogen enrichment factor for each of the over 4300 local basins in Connecticut. This webinar will briefly cover the goals and procedures of the study, and devote a good chunk of time to a live demonstration of the tool.
October 5th, 2022
Presented by Gretchen Young PE, City of Dover
For our fourth webinar of the series, Gretchen Young PE, the Environmental Projects Manager for the City of Dover, New Hampshire, will discuss the city’s current standing in their process of implementing the state’s first stormwater utility. After an initial unsuccessful attempt at establishing a utility, Dover has decided on a different approach for their second attempt, this time with the assistance of a community-based ad hoc committee. This webinar will dive into Dover’s use of public support and engagement throughout their utility process as well as and explore the next steps to come for the city.
You can also access Dover’s Ad Hoc Committee page containing the meetings, findings report, and summary of recommendations. These resources can be found on the bottom of the page.
June 15th, 2022
Presented by Dr. Warren Campbell, Western Kentucky University
Dr. Warren Campbell from Western Kentucky University has been collecting and analyzing information on stormwater utilities in the US for 15 years. He has been described as a human encyclopedia of stormwater utilities. In this webinar, he will dive into how widespread stormwater utilities are in the U.S., as well as various trends and patterns he’s seen throughout the years of his work.
May 4, 2022
Presented By Dave Wheeler, Stormwater Superintendent, South Burlington, VT
For the second webinar of our Stormwater Utility Series, the Stormwater Superintendent of South Burlington, VT, Dave Wheeler, will discuss the process of establishing the first stormwater utility in the state. This webinar will provide further detail on various aspects of setting up and maintaining a stormwater utility, such as the fee and schedule, use of funding, community impact, as well as what has been learned along the way.
April 5th, 2020
Presented By Dave Dickson and Mary Looney, UConn CLEAR
In the 2021 legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law authorizing all CT towns to set up a stormwater utility/fee. Stormwater utilities are often touted as an equitable way to help pay for increasing municipal stormwater management costs while also helping your community guard against a changing climate. Should your community consider it? What are the benefits? What are the risks? How does a utility work? What has been the experience of other New England communities? This webinar addressed those questions and engaged participants in discussing their concerns and questions about stormwater utilities.