Stormwater fees have been implemented across the country to fund upgrades to combined sewer systems. A stormwater fee is a tool recently made available to all New Jersey communities to help mitigate flooding and pollution. Communities with combined sewer systems may utilize this tool to ensure that every property contributing to sewage overflows pays for wastewater infrastructure upgrades. Now that the state has authorized New Jersey communities to implement stormwater utilities, a multitude of resources are available to assist municipalities with implementation. Read more here.
The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign seeks to fund local organizations to conduct public outreach and education in targeted combined sewer overflows (CSO) communities. Options for grant proposals include outreach to small businesses regarding the impacts of CSOs, educational opportunities for community input on the implementation of solutions, and informational campaigns about the benefits of green infrastructure in public and private development. Download the application here.
Save the Date for the 2021 Jersey Water Works Annual Membership Meeting
This year's Jersey Water Works membership meeting will be held virtually on July 28, 2021. Jersey Water Works (JWW) is a collaborative effort by a diversity of organizations and individuals, who embrace the common purpose of transforming New Jersey’s inadequate water infrastructure. Through their annual work plans, JWW committees plan and implement projects to advance the goals of the collaborative.Learn more about the activities of the JWW Combined Sewer Overflow and other committees here. JWW recently launched a Stormwater Utilities Ad Hoc Subcommittee that will be composed of members from all committees. Contact Kim Irby at kirby@njfuture.org to join a committee or for more information.JWW wants to know what’s important to you as it prepares the agenda for its membership meeting. What topics are you most interested in discussing or learning about at the membership meeting? Let the team know.
Save the Date for the Planning and Redevelopment Conference
The 2021 New Jersey Planning and Redevelopment Conference is a two-day virtual event on June 10-11 that will be co-hosted by New Jersey Future and APA New Jersey. It will feature a multitude of timely sessions as we restart, recover, and reimagine land use in a rapidly changing and post-pandemic environment. Sessions relating to stormwater include:
Water, Water Everywhere—Achilles Heel or Asset?
Savvy Stormwater Strategies: How Planning at Every Level Can Help NJ to Weather the Storm
Oh Sweet Relief! Stormwater Utilities as an Equitable Tool to Solve Flooding and Pollution
Hoboken’s Northwest Resiliency Park: Urban Planning for Physical and Social Resiliency
Incorporating Climate Change: It’s The Law
Stay tuned for more information about registration. In the meantime, mark your calendars for June 10-11.
The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign is funded by The Kresge Foundation’s generous grant to New Jersey Future. As part of an initiative that funds 24 grantees, the Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative is a program that works to transform stormwater and wastewater systems through equitable, climate-resilient water management practices. This month, we are celebrating the work of Cate Miggoya, director of capacity building at Groundworks USA and the Climate Safe Neighborhoods partnership. Cate’s work with the partnership is discussed by Reed Magazine in the article, “Race, Heat, and Redlining: Urban heat islands are often a legacy of racism.”
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers is an action-oriented campaign that empowers community organizations to engage residents and small business owners to shape the solutions that will be adopted in July 2020 to reduce localized flooding and the raw sewage dumped into our waterways. It is organized by its partners and an advisory board, with the support of New Jersey Future.
