GSIPM

Anxious to improve the Pacific Grove quality of life and environment, city leaders recently met with a group of students at one of the area’s leading marine research institutions to find ways of reducing storm water runoff pollution.  Hopkins Marine Lab hosted some of the area’s brightest academic minds for a 3-day storm water workshop from December 3-5.   The students broke into groups with the purpose of conjuring up ways to reduce the flow of toxins and bacteria into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  They then presented their findings to the city of Pacific Grove.

The student groups all independently came to the same conclusion: the best way to mitigate storm water runoff in a community like Pacific Grove is with bioswales.  Bioswales are small landscape plots that naturally filter and absorb silt and pollutants from storm water runoff.  Bioswales slow down the flow of storm water and give it time to drop contaminants into the ground, where they are broken down and absorbed by nature’s process.  The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that a properly functioning bioswale can achieve a 50 percent reduction in copper, lead and zinc flowing through storm water; a 25 to 50 percent reduction in sediments, phosphorus and bacteria; and a 40 percent reduction in nitrates.

For more information check out the article on page 20 in this recent edition of  The Cedar Times.