Risks and Opportunities in Urban Watersheds

The following are notes on the Risks and Opportunities in Urban Watersheds Panel that I attended on April 5, 2012 with my Environmental Case Studies class.

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/earth/abstracts/ABCS%20Symposium_April%205_2012.pdf

Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) Panel


MODERATOR - F.N Scatena, Chair, Department of Earth & Environmental Science
"Community involvement in establishing Environmental Stream Flows:
experiences from UNESCO-HELP projects"


Jon Capacasa, Director, Water Protection Division, EPA Region III
“The ‘Forgotten River’ Transformed to National Urban Waters Restoration Model- Lessons from the Anacostia River Watershed Restoration, Washington, DC”


Valessa Souter-Kline, Philadelphia Water Department
“Watershed Partnerships in Philadelphia: Opportunities for Community Involvement” 


Phillip Rodbell, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station
"Creating the great outdoors in the urban landscape" 


One learns with the community, defines problems and helps solve them.  All seniors in Wharton used to have to work on a community problem and write a thesis on it. Wharton was founded as a social science center.

Amy Gutmann has promised local and global engagement by the community.

F.N. Scatena 

Why a Watersheds Focus?
-Physically unites the community by conservation of mass and energy
-Upstream and downstream interactions - not only upstream effecting downstream, but the opposite also happens
-Multiple uses that unite communities: water supply, waste removal, recreation

Water Security Threat Index indicates that water is an urban problem.

Environmental Stressors in Urban Watersheds

• Atmosphere
• Air quality, ozone, asthma
• urban heat islands
• Hydrosphere
• drinking water quantity and quality
• storm water management; flooding and CSO
• Biosphere
• waste management
• energy and food security
• health and recreation
• increased population in cities 

Urban Watersheds have Opportunities

• Multiple partners / watershed groups
• government, municipal, state, federal
• community and NGOs
• industry
• Traditional watershed based community service
• cleanups
• planting and restoration projects
• educational activities
• community water development projects 

Metrics of Success

• Short-term accounting methods
• number of students and direct participants (16,000!)
• number of miles of rive cleaned, tons of trash removed, trees planted
• intermediate change
• impact of cleanups 
• success of restoration
• long term (sustainable, transformational) change
• adaptation of technology 

HELP: Hydrology for the Environment, Life, and Policy
-Came from lack of discourse between scientists, activists, community members, etc.

Major issues

• Water development
• people vs. industry vs. nature
• water quality
• point and non-point source
• storm water management
• Land use and climate change
• local vs. regional influences 

Exciting Outreach programs

• Visitor centers: forest service, nature reserves
• educational programs: K to grey, high schools, university
• Public outreach: earth day, etc. 

HELP user groups

1. Natural resource managers
2. researchers and educators
3. local and regional citizen groups
4. municipalities
5. technocrats (developers, engineers, water treatment operators, etc)
6. "S" in ABCS is not just schools, c is not only children 

Focus: Linking scientists and managers 

Water extracting permits - including nature...

Steps for UNESCO HELP Program

1. Workshop with Agency Directors
2. Presentations at Professional Societies (monthly meetings)
3. Technical workshops with local municipalities
4. Synthesis Publications

Capacasa
Urban Waters

• The "forgotten river" transformed to national urban waters restoration model 
• Anacostia Watershed (DC/MD) - it was the dumping ground 
• Challenges
• slow flowing, shallow
• 85% of sediments trapped
• Forgotten in shadows of higher profile clean water act successes of Potomac River cleanup
• natural filters lost - over 90% of historic wetlands are gone
• High sediment rates
• Fish health and degraded habitat - 50-60% fish tumor rate from toxic sediment 
• sewer system overflows 
• flooding is an issue because of development 
• CSO
• Persistent trash problems
• Aging infrastructure
• legacy toxics 
• Goals
• Engage, improve, revitalize, connect
• Approach
• focus on drainage area
• think of all stressors
• community based engagement
• governance structure
• strategically address goals 
• DC now charges 5 cents per plastic bag!
• 1st Superfund NPL Site listing was a river

Take Home Messages:

No longer the "forgotten river"

There is outstanding potential for these rivers to become great assets to the community 

Results do come about (even if it's slow) 

Economic driver is inherent 

Websites: epa.gov/urbanwaters, anacostia.net, capacasa.jon@epa.gov

I didn't have time to stay for more of the lecture, but what i did hear was very interesting. 

Healthy Profits: The Booming Business of Wellness

"Everyone is interested in getting into shape, and there are plenty of start-ups trying to make that easier. This panel will feature start-ups that get people to eat healthier, exercise more and manage their health needs."

Panelists:

Neda Talebian Funk - Co-founder and CEO, FITIST

Sachin Nanavati - Co-founder, Docphin

Kunal Sehgal - Co-founder and Director of Finance, Pure Fare

Samir Malik - Co-founder, 1DocWay

"Regulation is just a form of change."

My question: What role do you see environmental sustainability play in your business model? 

Anwers: Samir - it's an important part, although 1docway does not use much electricity and has no material product, the company saves customers many driving trips per year, thus reducing the carbon footprint. 

Kunal - It is somewhat important - they follow all regulations and take it into consideration. 

The other two speakers passed on the question. 

Samir Malik was really the standout speaker on this panel! He has some really great ideas and is a fabulously succinct speaker. 

He says that "telemedicine" is an important field for hospitals to get into for capital. 

Sustainability Practice Network Panel Discussion - Sustainability in Underserved Communities

The panel took place on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at the NYU Center for Global Affairs (15 Barclay St., NYC) from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Panel Description: "Sustainability and environmentalism have often been portrayed as benefiting affluent sectors of society while not addressing the real unmet needs of low-income communities. Compared to other challenges such as poverty, health and crime, creating sustainable communities has not been a high priority in our cities.

On this panel, we will seek to move beyond this false trade-off to discuss how sustainability is being integrated into the fields of community development and environmental justice. Examples include the creation of affordable and supportive green housing, healthy foods funds for people living in food deserts, and green job training in low-income neighborhoods. Participants will include community development practitioners as well as philanthropic, private and public investors who are supporting initiatives which improve both standards of living and environmental quality."

The Panel

Moderator: Steve Godeke (Principle Godeke Consulting, founding member SPN)

• It is people and the planet, not People vs. Planet
• Sustainability = social, environmental, and economic

Henry Lenere (Forsite Street Advisors, background in community economic development)

• The fastest and cheapest way to deal with the energy crisis is to retrofit (using private capital) 
• We should create a new energy efficiency credit to attract private capital 

Penny Fujiko Willgerodt (Executive Director of the Prospect Hill Foundation)

• Works for the Gulf Coast Fund for Community and Ecological Health (established after Katrina)
• Regional grant making institution that gives money to local groups - their resources are directed by gulf coast people

Abbie Westbrook (Forsight Street Advisors)

• There is a cooperative component to community development

Judith Kende (director NY Region for Low Income Investment Fund, background in transit oriented development)

• There should not be a trade off between sustainability and poverty - sustainability is fundamental to poverty aleviation
• Low Income Investment Fund is a CDFI, non-profit bank for lending

James Patchett (Goldman Sachs)

• Part of the (25 person) urban investment group at Goldman - working on urban revitalization projects
• The mission component of their group is very important, but they are still looking for a return on investment
• They work on comprehensive community development, not just housing

James and Judith are both working on the New York Healthy Food and Healthy Community Fund.

Questions for Consideration:

1. Does there have to be a trade off between sustainability and poverty alleviation? 
2. How do you measure success in these something as abstract as poverty alleviation and sustainability? 
1. Henry: retrofits are successful if they save money
2. Penny: more esoteric - making new partnerships, etc.
3. Abby: small goals to keep growing on the bigger ones, money, employees
4. Judith: Square footage, number of jobs created by her projects
5. James: Square footage, jobs, funding 
3. How will the President's budget cuts influence the environment and sustainability sector? 

Sustainability Practice Network: "Established in 2004, the Sustainability Practice Network (SPN) is a New York-based interdisciplinary community of professionals who seek to learn and share knowledge to advance sustainable development across sectors and disciplines. We mobilize our members to practice sustainability in their lives and work. Our mission is to raise awareness of the importance of individual and corporate sustainability and thereby create a more stable and equitable world." More about SPN