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Conservation Design Forum - Connors
CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM £anasca~e Architecture · Communit~ Planning · Ecologica! Restoration · Resource Managemen~ 27 December 2002 Ms. Joyce Connors 660 Edith Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001 375 W. First Street Elmhurst [L 60126 630.559.2000 ~none 630.559.2030 fax cdf@cdfinc.com Re: Statement of Professional Qualifications Dear Ms. Connors: Per the suggestion of Pam Jochum, please find the enclosed materials for ~,our review and consideration with respect to identifying potential cost effective, ecologically sustainable stormwater management alternatives for your community. I am founde- and President of Conservation Design Forum, Inc.. CDF/ a multidisciplinary planning and design firm located in Elmhurst. Illinois. CDF specializes in the creative integration of environmentally and culturally sustainable site and regional p[anntng, design, and development techniq des that combine current research innovative technologies, ano multidiscip[inary, ream- oriented problem solving to achieve cost-effective, sustainable goals. Much of the focus of our firm's work is directed at the oesign, implementation and research of innovative stormwater management measures thal are intended to restore nydrologica] stability and enhanced water qua[Ky in urban, suburban, ano rural environments. Conventional storm water management methods generally treat water as a waste product. and are designed to convey water off-site as quickly as possible. The accumulation ano concentrated discharge of storm water, even with temporary storage in conventional detention or retention basins, can still contribute significantly to ncreased downstream flooding, erosion and sedimentation degraded water quality, and habitat oss. Such chronic mismanagement of water results in substantial direct financial and ecological costs. Traditional storm water management strategies often represent a cultural indifference to historic groundwater dominated hydrological processes much ess any considerabon of long term consequences to the integrity of surrounding built and natural environments. Sustainable storm water management strategies, in contrast, are modeled to reolicate historical hydro]ogica processes unique to an area and act ro imorove water quality while minimizing the volume ano velocity of surface water runoff. The fundamenta goal of many restorative storm water management systems is to accommodate water wnere it falls. allowing it to manifest itself as a resource rather than generate a waste product to be dealt with elsewhere. Such strategies are directed at capturing, cleansing, and absorbing surface water runoff on-site, thus restoring hydrological stability within the watershed These types of progressive measures nclude the incorporation of rainwater collection and absorption Ms. ]oyce Connors 27 December 2002 Page 2 systems such as cisterns, dry wells. French drains, and level spreaders, constructed wetlands, naturally vegetated bio-swales, perforated infiltration-enhancing storm sewer infrastructure, and even ~vegetated gree~ roofs. The integration of native landscape systems into community open space can also be a very effective buffering tool to reduce runoff and influence on-site infiltration. Such measures are important elements for reducing runoff, improwng water quality, recharging groundwater, reducing flood flows and sewage treatment loads and restoring ecological integrity to surrounding built and natural environments. Not only do these measures effectively reduce surface water runoff, erosion, sedimentation, and associated flooding within the area and throughout the watershed system, they re(~uce costs associated with conventional facilities construction and maintenance including the traditional reliance on municipal water supplies. Collected ram water can also provide an ongoing source of water for garden or landscape rrigation, and for potential site amenities SUCh as ornamental pools, fountains, and other water features that combine beauty an(~ function, thus promoting the celebration of water as a precious resource. Having grown up along the Mississippi River in Muscatine. am very familiar with the range of physical and cultural issues related to chronic flooding in your region. Although I nave not reviewed the specific plans that are currently being proposed for flood control in the City, I am confident that cost effective, ecologically sound alternatives are likely available. It is also likely that such solutions will more effectively reduce flooding in the watershed, and can be achieved with far less disruption to existing neighborhoods. The enclosed materials wi][ provide you with a discussion of the range of professiona services we ~rovide. our corporate philosophy, relevant project experience including representative case studies, professional profiles, and additional items that may be of interest. ?[ease fed free to copy and distribute any of the articles or data to your colleagues, per your discretion. Conservation Design 'Forum would be very pleased to assist the City of Dubuque in any area where our expertise may be of benefit. Should you have any questions or require additional information following your review of these materials, please do not hesitate to contact me personally at (630) 559-2025 or by e-mail at patchett@cdfinc.com. I would also we]come the opportunity to visit Dubuque, and present these concepts and techmques in greater detail through some type of public presentation or forum. I will look forward to speaking with you in the near futura. Thank you for your consideration. Cc: Pam Iocnum CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM 375 West First Street Elmhurst, Illinois 60126 630.559~2000 phone 630.559,2030 fax www.cdfinc.com Firm Profile Conservation Design Forum (CDF) is a nationally recognized multidisciplinary consulting firm specializing in the creative integration of environmentally and culturally sustainable land planning, design, and development techniques. CDF combines current research, innovative technologies, and team-oriented problem solving to achieve cost-effective, sustainable solutions. Conservation Design Forum's visionary planning and design process is based on an understanding that every site contains a unique and ever-changing part of the global system. Therefore, every design solution requires new creativity and innovation. CDF believes that the partnership of environmental and economic growth, accomplished through sustainable development, arises from the need to integrate human activities and built structures into the supporting environmental fabric. Through thoughtful planning and design, built and natural environments are integrated to function in a flexible and unique self-supporting system, the result being healthy neighborhoods, villages, cities, and towns that are more pleasant and infinitely varied. CDF's multidisciplinary professional team includes landscape architects, planners, environmental scientists, and civil/ water resource engineers lead by its founder and President James Patchett, and its four discipline directors, Gerou/d Wilhelm, Director of Ecological Services; David Yocca, Director of Landscape Architecture and Planning; Tom Price, Director of Water Resources Engineering; and Tom Ennis, Director of Ecological Engineering. An important aspect of CDF's commitment to sustainable design and development involves the on-going need to promote research and educational outreach, which lead to the establishment of Conservation Research Institute (CRI) in 1996. CRI is a not-for-profit CDF affiliate dedicated to furthering applied research and educational opportunities in planning, design, installation, and long-term management of sustainable systems. CDF has also developed a strategic alliance with Atelier Dreiseitl, a world-renowned German consulting firm known for developing advanced concepts and techniques in urban rainwater integration, water resource management, and the synthesis of art, ecology, and engineering. We are currently collaborating with Atelier Dreiseitl on several projects in the U.S., and routinely bring them in as part of our design team on projects that will benefit from their unique experience and creativity. (Rev, 5125101) S:~Marketing\CDF Profile\Firm Profile 2002 with color logo.doc CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM, iNC. Mission Statement Conservation Design Forum is dedicated to · Reconnecting people to their place and each other by integrating a living environment into every place where we live and learn, work and play. · Fostering a diverse team of committed professionals who enjoy finding creative solutions by working together. · Delivering the highest quality services for our clients and colleagues. · Pursuing sustainable approaches to the stewardship of our land and other resources. · Learning from yesterday, glorying in today, and respecting tomorrow... COFFEE CREEK CENTER CHESTERTON, INDIANA Some of the world's most desirable communities are based upon design principles that reintegrate people into their neighborhoods, cherish the environment as an asset and amenity, and encourage community. Coffee Creek Center is such a community. By combining environmental design with new urbanism and ecological restoration, the Lake Erie land Development Corporation has truly brought sustainable development full circle. Coffee Creek Center encompasses 640 acres of mixed-use development and includes more than 160 acres of prairie, woodland, wetland, and stream restoration on the site. The land use plan is guided by a desire to encourage diversity, promote smart growth, support design flexibility, and establish strong ties to the adjacent community of Chesterton. Preservation and restoration of a stable ecology is fundamental to the Coffee Creek Master Plan. The creek cor- ridor serves as the unifying element of an extensive open space system that is based upon the living landscape native to this place. State of the art stormwater and wastewater treatment systems integrate water resource man- agement with the landscape without creating waste. The goal of these systems is to restore a groundwater based hydrology to the landscape and minimize surface water runoff. Successful deployment of native landscapes serves to create a unique regional aesthetic for the residents and visitors of Coffee Creek Center. CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM Dreaming bing in Coffee Creek As cookie-cutter communities sprawl across America, one developer has set out to prove that environmentally sustainable towns are attractive and affordable alternatives. Jerry Mobley is a developer. He knows that to be successful he should buy some land, plow it up, and build row after row of idendcat houses. He might also set aside a few acres of land for aWal- Mart and its parking lot. And maybe he'll throw in a ballpark. ITheresa bedroom community. It could be one of any number of communities found from coast to coast. But Jerry MoNey is no ordinary developer. He knows there's another way--and he set out to prove it. MoNey, president of Lake Erie Land, emdsioned a community that brought together Old World charm and new design techniques to create an environment,'0.1y sustainable community where people would want to live and work. Coffee Creek Center; a 640-acre extmzsion of Chesterton, Indiana, is now becoming a reality. The self-contained community of 1,200 homes is an ambitious attempt to blend la'adkional neighborhood design with ecological-based planning and development. Those CONSERVATION VOICES.DECEMBEK/JANUAKY.2000 } involved say it will be a model for urban planners, landscape architect. Dream Bigger "Mobley reached out to whoever the best in their area was, whetfier it was transportation or water management or building design. Then he said, 'Okay, dream bigger,'" says Katie tkizer, Lake Erie Land's director of tian~n odd sounding tide but real. We want to restore the stable hydrology that tvould have been present throughotu the upper Midwest." So before any buildings go up or roads laid out, ecologists are restoring woodlands, pmMes, and Coffee Creek, a small stream with severe bank erosion.The creek is part of a 185-acre area to be preserved for an unlimited rime that bisects the land. The team also is developing communiw's natural and recreational features. And they are. But the key to their success, say many of those involved in the project, is that they are dreaming big together. Architects, planners, engineers, and ecologists sat down to share their ideas and expertise to create the ideal community. Their unified approach helps ensure that the design is cohesive and that nothing is overlooked. Creating an ideal community begin with understanding and working within the mtural hy&ology of the land, says James Patchett, president of Conservation Design Forum, a member of the Coffee Creek team. Human development and agriculture have altered the watershed fi'om an infiltration-based groundwater hydrology to one of flash flooding and streambank erosion. "Our ultimate goal is to prove that you can design a deruely populated urban community that generates no surface-water runoff and no wastewater discharge of any type," says Patchett. Virtually all of the water will be cleansed, treated, captured, utilized and absorbed on-site. Usln~ Mother Earth's design The Coffee Creek teal11 is using a variety of techniques to handle the ann's storm and wastewater, says Patchett. But none of these techniques involves traditional n'eatment facilities or holding basins. The stormwater system the team designed carries runoffthrough a series of perforated pipes packed in gravel that encourage the water to infiltrate into the ground~vater system as it travels to the creek corridor. OvetSlow water ,,viii run into a series of ornamental, natm'alized water features, such as a pond and waterfall area. After that, the water flo~vs through a series of gradients built along the corridor's contours. The overflow water bubbles up through a small drain onto a level gradient planted with native species whose root systems help absorb the water. If the water ovm~lows that graddent, it flows into the second gradient built lower down. The process continues until all of the ~vater is absm'bed into the ground. "The beauty of this is that the only thing that comes to the suface is a 2-inch wide &ain," Patchett says. Walking along the creek's trails, "you'll just see these beautiful woodlands and prairies xvith the wildflowers and native grasses." To cut down on stormwater even entering die system, some building will have"green" roog, Patchett ad&. Cormnon throughout Europe, a green roof has three to four inches of soil planted with grasses and wildflowers. The roofs absorb 70 to 80 percent of the precipitasign, much of which will evapotranspire back into the asmosphere. Robert Wolfe, director of ecological smwices atJ.E New & Associates, says the 4.2 milEon gallons of wastewater the Coffee Creek Center occupants will generate daily, also will be treated using a system incorporated into the natural environment of the area. Wastewater will ,be pumped ir~m wedan&, consu'ucted by planting wedand species direcdy into gravel placed in a 2-foot deep depression. As the water flows to the other end of the wetland system, the plants and bacteria treat the wastewaser, which stays about two inches below the ~'avet. After the water is clean, it's allowed to percolate into the ground. "It's a lo,v-tech solution in that we are letting bacteria, sunlight and plants do the work for us," says Wolfe, adding that the wetlands Wolfe says that using wetlands to treat wastewater is not a new technique~some people even create mini-wetland treamaent systems in their backym'&, But this ~rmy be the first time weflan& are being used exclusively in such a large community, he says. That's why it's important to document Coffee Creek's effectiveness, Patchett adds. Research will be conducted on both the waste and stormwater ta-eau2ent systeras so that the i~fformatlon can help other conm~unities design similar programs. i I I I "Education is a critical key to all of this. Almost everything we do flies in the face of most codes and ordinances from site planning, development, landscape, and certainly storm and wastewater engineering."-Jim Patchett I I I I I themselves contribute to the area's natural and recreational features. "It's going to be a large open space that ga'assland birds--many of which are endangered or threatened from loss of habitat--will be able to use. It's a place where people can walk their dog. You would never kn?w that it ~vas part of the ~vastewater treauuent facility." The benefits of Coffee Creek's new storm and wastewater systems go beyond creating natural habitats and recreational areas, Wolfe adds. By allowing ~vater to fnfiltrate into the ground, the treatment systems are nmintaining the mxea's natural I'¢'drolo~:Traditional systems hold the water in big ponds for 24 hours, then dump the water into the creek, which can cause flooding, erosion and ecological problems by altering the creek's temperature. And it will help educate--and convince--city planners. "Education is a critical key to all of this,"' Patchett says. "Almost everything we do flies in the face of most codes and ordinances from site planning, development, lan&cape, and certainly storm and ~vaste- water engineering." Lal~e Erie Land made education a component of its long-term goals. For exmnple, to help educate &e public, the team is creating a restroom facility along the Coffee Creek corridor that wil] demonstrate the community's ecological desi=m~. Educational signs will explain the building's green roof, natural building materials, and mini-~vefland rystem. The company also plans to encourage upstream landowners to adopt ~vaterthed-friendly agricultural practices. CONSERVA. TION VO1CES.13ECEMBEP./jANUAI~.Y,2000 } 14 Sustainable Living "Write not just developing a cornfield subdivision," says Jay Womack, a landscape architect ~vith Conservation Design Forum and Coffee Creek's project managen"There's no other place in the United States ~hat's going to [his depth and level to incorporate nature into the manmade environment and ~o have a sustainable comlnuni~." Kesidents ~vfll enjoy nor only the recreationaI trails and open spaces, Womack says, but also the environmenralIy fi'iendly charac- mristics buH~ into the town itself. Coffee Creek is des[~ed to be a cohesive, pedestrian-ffiendly village with unique home desigm that encourage neighbor interactions. ,There ~von5 be my big-box m~il stores or n~ four n~es oumide of town that people drive m and park in a half-~e Mde paring lot," Womack says."k's ~ goingxb be sma~er mom-and-pop shops and resraumn~ that people can ride their bikes or wa~ to7' Coffee Creekk downtoxm~ building will include m~ stores on the first floor, prof~- sionJ o~c~ on ~e second floor, and apartments on ~e ~ird floor. To create a thriving downtown ~ea, people must live ~ere, Womack says. In addition to downto~ living, Coffee Creek ~1I include nei~borhoo~ with a varie~ ofhouJ~ optlom-~n~ sn~ apartment ren~ m estates, which Lake Erie Land officiaB say they believe will a~tract mixed-income msidenu. O~er susm~able features ~lu& eleca-lc cra- shu~e and ~ service, long-hsfing bdB~ng nmmri~ and solar and ~nd ener~ for sm~er ener~ needs. "Everything ~e do is predicated on a philosophy of susralmbiH~;"Wonmck says."Sus~mble B not oily about not cut~ down trees any more; it~ about ~ing solar ener~ in your home or not creating pollution." The Coffee Creek Center ~ in the flint ph~e of development. The team is building recmafionfi anaenifies, such ~ a 6,000 square foo~ pahlion ~d a pl~ for fro-mere' nurke~ and festi~s, brick s~-eets are being lfid, and home construction begins next sprig. Leading the way Hundreds of people from ali over Indiana are on the waiting list in hopes of moving into Coffee Creek nexi: smnmer. They're lining up in droves, says Lake Erie Land's IKizer, proving chat, for some at least, the village is a desirable alternative to anonymous suburbia. lKizer says the company understands that Coffee Creek% poputari~' n-Jght drive up housing costs as it has in od~er unique neighborhoods. To head oft- that posslbility, Lake Erie Land xvrore into dxe covenance that a certain percentage of' homes must remain affor&thle. Today, the average cost ora home in Coffee Creek Center is $140,000, P, Jzer says. Althou~ some homes will be built next summer, the entire project's master plan spans the next 15 to 20 years. Traditional developers have to get their money out in three to five years, so they don't take a long- term view o£ a community, P-.izer says. But Lake Erie Land's parent company, NiSource, is helping to finance Coffee Creek. "There's a higher investment initially, but over the term of the project, there will be higher returns," I/.izer says, adding that Coffee Creek will show other developers and the banks that finance them that they can invest over a longm- period and help the conmaunity at the sm}~e dine. Demonstntthg long-term benefits to Chesterton's city officials was also critical. Coffee Creek's water management and city planning required numerous zoning variances. P,.izer says it has been important to seek input fi'om city officials and other community menthers who had concerns about Coffee Creek. "They've been very coopemflve;' says Rizer."They've taken the tin~e to educate themselvesY It helped that Chesterton, a town of I0,000, was already incorporating pedestrian-fi'iendly features into its downtown. Ecological services director Wolfe, like others comrt~tted to Coffee Creek, says Lake Erie Land is on the cutting edge. From trans- portation to green construction teclmiques to socioeconomic factors, "they put everything into one package? Wolfe says he hopes other developers wfll take Jerry Mobley's lead and create inviting, sustainable conmmnities, but he admits that not every developer will be able to incorporate every aspect of Coffee Creek Center. "I think in the next five years you'll see people applying pieces of it?Wolfe says. "Maybe doing everything wfll become the standard in 15 to 20 years." ~, GiIlian [xTucax is a freela~tce urdter ba~ed in De wet, Co o udo CONSERVATION VOIG~/$.DECEMBER/JANUAI[Y.2000 } 15 commercial plan parking lot bioswole section section level spreader section CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM Blackberry Creek Altemative Futures Analysis KANE COUNTY, ILLINOIS The Blackberry Creek watershed in southern Kane County, Illinois is forecasted to experience significant amounts of development and growth over the next decade. Currently, the watershed consists of primarily agricultural land uses. The purpose of the futures analysis is to illustrate and evaluate potential alternative future scenarios that will protect and restore stream and wetland resources. The project aims to illustrate how water resources can be protected by conservation and restoration of stream corridors and wetlands, as well as by changes made to broader watershed landscapes. Jn order to illustrate how conservation measures can impac~ a watershed, CDF developed a variety of templates for various types of development and natural resource areas, including agricultural, large lot and medium density residential, commereiaJ development, and stream, depressionaJ wetland and upland resource areas. Each template has two versions, one following conventional code requirements, and the other based on conservation or "green" design standards. The "green" templates include such elements as stormwater infiltration systems (porous paving, bioswales, level spreaders) green roofs, clustered housing, and networked buffer areas. The templates will be distributed strategically throughout ~he Blackberry Creek watershed in both "conventional" and "conservation" scenarios. Both the collaged scenarios and the individual templates are being modeled using a continuous hydrology model (HSPF) to ~timate :heir impacts on water quantity and quality. The results of the modeling will be published in a report comparing the per[ormance of the conventional templar, es and scenario to the conservation temptate and scenario. The results will then be used to guide comprehensive planning and ordinance development throughout the projec~ area. dient USEPA, IDNR, and Kane County, Illinois budget $202,000 project team: Conservation Design Forum Projec~ Lead; Englneefing and Landscape Architecture 31e Conservation Found~tio~ C0mm~y Outreach comp/etion: 2003 BUTTERFIELD CREEK HANDBOOK OF SUSTAINABLE SITE DESIGN TECHNIQUES The Butteffield Creek Steering Committee was established to promote the protection and enhancement of the Butterfield Creek Watershed and the natural resources associated with it. The handbook is part of an on-going effort to help establish land use and development policies that will encourage sustainable site development, or that which preserves and improves land, water, soil, air, and other resources for future generations while meet- ing current needs for housing, education, commerce, and recreation in a growing community. The Handbook for Sustainable Site Design is an assemblage of both community planning and design techniques and storm water management strategies geared towards land development and redevelopment in the conditions that exist primarily in the Midwest, especially in the Chicagoland area and its environs. The ideas and examples illustrated in the guidebook are intended to be a resource and an educational tool for decision makers, community leaders, design professionals, developers, and other citizens who wish to incor- porate the concept of sustainable development into their local environment. Once educated decisions are made to establish sustainable land use and site design/development policies, codes and ordinances can be modified to encourage wise resource management. CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM Mossville Bluffs Watershed Restoration Master Plan MOSSVILLE, ILLINOIS The Mossville Bluffs Watershed has experienced an escalating rate of degradation over the years. The acre per year to the Upper Peoria Lake. To help investigate the sources of erosion and to develop possible solutions, CDF was hired to lead a team that would evaluate the current condition, develop concepts to implement the master plan. Current watershed management practices drain client bt~g~t proj~ team: complef~n: Tri-County Regional Planning Commission City of Peoria Peoda County $68,500 Conservation Design Forum P~ect Lead; Lendsc~e Architecture restored sustainable hydrology alagram SAVANN ION CONSERVATION DESIGN FORJJM ROUTE 47/KISHWAUKEE RIVER CORRIDOR PLANNING PROJECT lhe Kishwaukee River is an A-rated river (in the State's Biological Stream Chara~erization system). I~ headwatem intem~ with Route 47 in several locations along an eight-mile stretch of Route 47. lhis area is under ve~ strong development pre~ sure and will be substantially developed within the next 5 to 10 Working with local government, a conse~ation- yearn. bas~ transpo~ation plan is being developed to coordinate communi~ land use with ~e goal of preseming this high qual- i~ watemhed while mainlining critical tmnspo~ation functions of a Strategic Regional A~erial roadway. During the planning pr~ess CDF assisted the steering commi~ee in creating goals and obje~ives for conse~ation plan- ning in the corridor. CDF stuff also design~ a series of indictors for the co~idor that will enable monitoring of those goals and obj~iv~ established during the planning process, lhe indicatom address a varie~ of social, environmental, tran~ potation, economic and health issues, and provide ~e communi~ with measurable ~nchmarks for achieving ~eir goals. lhis pro~e~ integrates a varie~ of strategies to ensure ~at development and ~sociated transpo~tion systems minimize · e impac~ on impomnt natural systems and encourage high~uali~ investment oppo~unities by land developers. CDF first ~ormed a natural features invento~ for the proje~ area, and then complet~ GIS analysis comparing buildou~ for existing comprehensive plans to a consemation-bas~ comprehensive land use plan. lhe final produ~ for the pro~e~ will be a set of practiml and implementable alternative land use and transpomtion plans that will identi~ and compare the ben- efi~ and constrain~ of non~onse~ation oriented land use planning to those of a conse~a~ion-based approach. CONS[RVAIIO~ D[SIG~ FORUM DUNES COUNTRY FURNESSVILLE~ INDIANA Dunes Country at Furnessville began with the Dunes Country Partnership hiring a traditional planning firm to design a plan for their 181 acre property adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The partners felt that this initial plan did not integrate the site's significant natural features and lacked a strong sense of place. One year later, the Partnership held a visioning charrette to set a new, more 'green~ direction for the project. CDF was hired to lead a design process to inco- porate the Partner's new vision for a 'green# deveopment. Dunes Country at Furnessville is designed to demonstrate how to build a community that will last for seven generations. The goals of the project are to communicate a strong sense of local character, provide an alternative to traditional single use zoning and construction, provide a place for community activities, and be a showcase for the latest in green building technology, including infiltration-based rainwater management systems, Iow energy use homes built of sustainable materi- als, waste water recycling, community supported agriculture. Open space occupies 60% of the property, and features restoration of remnant dunes, and preservation of unique forest ecosystems, wetlands, and native prairie. The mixed-use development features office space with studio apartments over- head, a market selling locally grown organic produce, a nursery, a community center, restaurants, a health spa, and a vari- ety of retail shops. The wastewater system uses a closed loop, self-contained innovative land application reclamation sys- tem. This innovative Master Plan received a 2001 ASLA Merrit Award for Planning CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM TANGLEWOOD HILLS BATAVlA~ iLLINOIS Tanglewood Hills is a new residential neighborhood currently being developed on the western edge of Batavia. The site is located within Kane County's Critical Growth Corridor. This corridor has been identified as an essen- tial area for natural resource preservation with recommendations for compact development and innovative design. It also essentially completes the southwestern expansion of the City of Batavia, which is attempting to control sprawl by establishing clear boundaries for its growth. The plan for TanglewOod Hills endeavors to blend a community of homes of various sizes and styles into restored native landscapes. With only 329 homes on 351 acres, the plan allows for a significant portion of the property to be reserved as open space. Based upon design elements of the 'garden suburb~, the layout includes winding lanes connected with landscaped islands. These features slow automobiles and create openings with- in neighborhoods. A variety of pedestrian and bicycle ways have been planned to connect the residents with nearby shops and a regional network of recreational trails. Nearly 200 acres of the site are planned as open space, in the form of parks, natural areas, and conservation easements. This will provide residents with access to recreation and nature. The plan utilizes the concept of ecologically sustainable development, meaning that it will not adversely impact the land or resources of the site. I MILL CREEK II GENEVA~ ILLINOIS ne' v ~ ~af ~tral K n~ County that lark ,n., ~ [ e and ]( natural envi~ :al ~ 3n th been e, :ognized as ~ meedations for compact development and innovative design. Mill Creek blends principles of new urbanism with inn~ long-term quality of the site's natural systems, promoting acres and will have about 2,000 homes when complete~ lage center with shops, offices, services, civic spaces al densities. Numerous recreational and neighborhood pa~ wide trail system. Mill Creek demonstrates sensitivity to the environment ! merit. Nearly half of the land area of the site will be retai~ vative technologies for environmental and water resoun cleanses and recycles wastewater back into the ground. ~'~ CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM Mill Creek is a new urban village in central Kane County that offers its residents and visitors a community that promotes a harmonious relationship between people and the natural environment. The Mill Creek stream corridor, located within Kane County's Critical Growth Corridor, has been recognized as a critical area for natural resource preservation, with recom- Mill Creek blends principles of new urbanism with innovative design techniques aimed at preserving and enhancing the long-term quality of the site's natural systems, promoting both cultural and ecological stability. The site encompasses 1,475 acres and will have about 2,000 homes when completed. The focal point of the development is a pedestrian-oriented vil- lage center with shops, offices, services, civic spaces and is surrounded by neighborhoods of various housing types and densities. Numerous recreational and neighborhood parks, and a network of walks and trails linking the site to a county Mill Creek demonstrates sensitivity to the environment by incorporating ecological preservation, restoration and enhance- ment. Nearly half of the land area of the site will be retained as permanent open space. The design includes the use of inno- vative technologies for environmental and water resource management including biological wastewater treatment, which I TELLABS CORPORATE I H E A_D QUA RTE R S I NAPERVILLE~ ILLINOIS I I I I I I I I Te[labs, lng took an early interest in adopting an integrated site planning, landscape design, and storm water management approach for their new 55 acre Global Headquarters complex located in Naperville, Illinois. I Working closely with the project architects and engineers, CDF developed plans for the new global headquar- ters campus that rely on the comprehensive integration of storm water management, native landscape systems, and ecological restoration. This approach has allowed Tellabs to significantly reduce potentially harmful, tra- I ditional landscape maintenance practices and add valuable and rare habitat to the developing area. The progressive storm water management system has been designed to accommodate water where it falls, allow- I lng it to manifest itself as a resource, rather than generating a waste product to be dealt with elsewhere. Through the use of innovative storm water collection and treatment systems, in combination with the natural water con- serving attributes of the deep-rooted native prairie and woodland plants, the goal is to restore, as nearly as pos- I sible, a pre-settlement form of hydrology back to the site. This would mimic the groundwater dominated pattern of hydrology that was prevalent historically throughout the region. Surface water runoff will be handled in a combination of naturalized swales, parking lot island bioswales that incorporate french drains with perforated I pipes, and other infrastructure measures such as dry wells and level spreaders designed to cleanse and absorb water on-site, thus dramatically reducing the amount of storm water that leaves the site. I CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center Wolf Lake, Indiana MATTESON VILLAGE HALL &GREEN MATTESON~ ILLINOIS The Matteson Village Hall and 6-acre Village Green represent a comprehensive model for implementing sus- tainable technologies into a new development project. The new Village Hall and Green is a public oasis and gathering space within a proposed new town center development that will ultimately consist of government, office and retail land uses. The sustainable stormwater system designed and implemented for the Village Green mimics natural processes that are self-supporting and minimize impacts on the surrounding environment. The ultimate goals of the design were to eliminate the need for a traditional storm water system, reduce downstream flooding impacts, and improve local and regional water quality. Restoration of habitat quality and biodiversity was achieved as well through the incorporation of Iow maintenance perennials and native plant communities. The Village Green design includes large areas of native landscaping with deep-rooted plants to help absorb rain- water where it falls, and level spreaders and French drains to capture, cleanse, and infiltrate runoff. Detention storage capacity within the nearby pond was designed for up to a 100 year- 24 hour storm event, with no release of water downstream. In this system, water is allowed to infiltrate into the ground, thus replenishing local groundwater reserves and restoring regional historic patterns of groundwater dominated hydrology. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK MADISON~ WISCONSIN The native species in the University of Wisconsin Research Park's wildflower prairie were selected to enhance the design integrity and function of the Research Park, while reflecting the topographic and biological diversity of the site. The result is an immediately appealing visual palette of wildflower color and will offer excellent research oppoCmnities in the estab- lishment of native species in urban and suburban settings. Because prairie development and restoration are an evolving science, the Park's wildflower prairie will offer diverse short- and long-term research opportunities through the University of Wisconsin - Madison's Arboretum and Department of Landscape Architecture, who were consulted during tbe project's planning. This research aspect of the plantings is in keep- ing with the mission of University Research Park. The original 10 acres that have been converted as a part of the initial demonstration project has been expanded through- out the entire 300 acres of the Corporate and Research Park. Currently, Conservation Design Forum is completing con- strection documents for the first integrated green building and site demonstration project within the park. lhe building is being constructed for the Wisconsin Energy Center and will serve as a state-wide demonstration project on the subjects illustrating the techniques used in sustainable landscapes. CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM CHICAGO CITY HALL Conservation Design Forum Green Roof Research ELMHURST. ILLINOIS Conservation Design Forum was awarded a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to demonstrate the use of green roofs for stormwater runoff reduction, and to st..udy the effectiveness of green roof systems. CDFs green roof will be divided into test plots where the influence of variables will be tested including I drainage layer type and growing media thickness. CDF will also e~aluate varieties of vegetation for I use upon green roofs. Ultimately, the roof will J reduce the volume of stormwater runoff and ~ j associated nonpoint source pollutants leaving the ~ ~ I roo~op and serve as a prototypical green roof to 11 I~- ~] I educate local communities and businesses ~. '~ regarding this management practice. ~ ~ ~ / The roof will include installation of measurement s=~.~=~ U / equipment to quantify reductions in stormwater [ runoff volume from several test plots. It will tl ~ ~ ~ measure and record the amount of prec,p,tat.on ~ ~ I received and the amount of runoff leaving the I =em.A conventional roof on the same building J ~" ~ J will remain as a control plot. Data from this roof ~ J will be compared to the green roof. Education and outreach are paramount to the · ~' design and built work of the CDF green roof. ~ ~ CDF will perform outreach activities to teach the ~, b;nefits of v.,erg~tiOanr absorption and reduction o stormwate 'scha ge. An emphasis will focus --~ ~ j on how targeted audiences can help reduce and cd, green roof conceptual plan client Illinois Environmental Protection ~ .~ . Agency. Bureau ~-:~., i~,~ ~ ~:' budget $300000 ~ ~ . g~o~dng meciiurn { and Ecolo~cal Restora~on ~ Tempara'y wooer retention [ CEAnderson ............ .-i===---.--.- Wate~r00f mem~ane / ~ ~Roof deck"r ~ 1/ roof set,on applied to areas s3 and s6 CONSERVATION DESIG~:~Nw~.O~?,,~.M~.,.~,,..o,.~o,~! ~o.~..~oo0p~o.~ ~o.~.~o~o~ .~.~d. ........ b Villa Park Police Station VILLA PARK, ILLINOIS Villa Park and their architect appr?,ached Conserv~.tion Design Forum to develop a 'Green site plan for their new Police Station that will be constructed in the center of town on the site of a former parking lot. The goal of the project is to obtain LEED rating and reduce stormwater runoff from the site, all within a tight budge~ This challenge has resulted in a plan that integrates the building, the parking lot, and the landscape areas into a system that achieves all of the goals in a holistic and mutua y supportive manner. The proposed green roof will reduce heating and cooling costs, reduce heat island affects, and provide a visual amenity as well as reducing stormwater runoff. The parking lot is being constructed of porous paving that reduces and slows stormwater runoff. The landscape areas also serve as bioswales to filter, retain and slow excess runoff from the roof and parkng ot. Because of the integration of the various components into a system, all the project goals could be achieved while still meeting budget constraints. native plants used in a more traditional ornamental arrangement, contrasted with a more naturalistic / Monitoring of runoff from the green roof, parking lot, and bioswales are planned to assess the level of stormwater and annual runoff volume reduction and confirm stormwater modeling results. ¥illage of¥illa Park o,ooo project teem: ComerYation Design Forum Projea Lead; Landscape Arc~ec~ure and Site Engineering Prisco Serena Sturm St. Ambrose University Stormwater Master Plan DAVENPORT, IOWA For the past fay years St. Ambrose University has experienced maior flooding problems due to on and off-site runoff. The Regents of St. Ambrose University approached CDF first to resolve the most problematic areas of the approximately 60 acre site. Following a preliminary educational workshop, the project scope was expanded to a comprehensive campus storm water plan that incorporates sustainable water resource management and design into the natural, ~ ~ ~,Tw~c~ j physical, cultural and aesthetic aspects of the campus i ' I The 'lnnovat,ve' stormwater management system ~' ~ ,~ I J features underground infiltration chambers that utilize / r~ ~ ~ ~ J ~ j native landscaped filter beds to cleanse runoff prior to // ~ ~ t1~ j dra,n,ng to the chambers, artfully deployed overland ///---'~.,~r~. ~ \..a,.~.,,,.~ '-qiI /- ~ ~ flow routes, and potenfial water recircuJation systems. Z--Hydrolog,c modehng was used to s,ze the mfikrat,on ~iil~i~ll~~ ~_ ~ [ and storage system to reduce 2-year runoff volumes by ~~ __ ~ nearly 80% and limit discharge rates during the Joo- memm,m I year event to the capacity of the dowstream storm ~ ' I ~ I sewer system. i *~ ~ The project is intended to address an acute campus flooding problem and at the same time begin to restore the hydrology of this portion of the Duck Creek watershed in a manner that enhance the / client Saint Ambr0se University project teom: Conservation Design Forum CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM t ST. AMBROSE UNIVERSITY STORMWATER PLAN PHASING AND ESTIMATED COSTS Phase 1: Locust Street and Cosgrove Hall Flooding The proposed strategy for addressing flooding on Locust Street and in the area adjacent to Cosgrove Hall is to construct the South Detention Basin improvements as presented in this plan. The proposed South Detention Basin improvements include both below ground and above ground storage and discharge/infiltration components. The below ground storage and infiltration components are sized to contain up to the 10-year storm event completely underground, resulting in no overiand flooding through campus, and no temporary inundation within the above ground storage area. The below ground portion of this feature would drain, during the 10-year event, through a combination of infiltration into the underlying soils, and through the existing 15-inch storm sewer. Further, stormwater modeling indicates that a l-year storm event would be completely absorbed into the ground, with no discharge into the existing 15-inch storm sewer. It is also anticipated that during a 2-year storm, approximately 80% of the runoff would be absorbed on-site. The remaining 20% would be slowly released through the existing storm sewer system. The above ground portion of the proposed detention facility would become inundated only during events greater than a 10-year storm. The storage capacity incorporated into the above ground portion of the basin area would effectively provide temporary storage for up to a 100-year event with no flooding onto Locust Street. The above ground storage would be released as overiand drainage through campus along much the same route as overflow from the current parking lot flooding. The performance of the proposed system under various events is summarized below. Event PeakFlow Runoff volume Peak flow Overland Peak into South infiltrated* through existing Flow Detention storm sewer 1-year 20 cfs 100% 2-year 35 cfs 80% 4 cfs 0 10-year 71 cfs 45% 4 cfs 0 cfs 100-year 142 cfs 20% 4 cfs 12 cfs Proportion of runoff volume infiltrated is dependent on the field verified soil I I I permeability at the base of the storage reservoir. This plan is presented as an altemative to the previously proposed seven-foot storm sewer extension. An updated assessment of the cost associated with constructing the storm sewer indicates that it would be more costly than the proposal presented here. In addition, the proposed storm sewer would exacerbate flooding and erosion along Duck Creek. In contrast, the proposed South Basin detention solution would reduce current stormwater rates and volume to Duck Creek. Costs for the storm sewer and South Detention alternatives are presented below. South Detention Alternative (Phase I Plan) Component Cost 4.4 acre-feet underground $1,100,000 detention 3.9 acre-feet above ground $180,000 detention excavation Demolition and Utilities $130,000 Filter beds $17 ! ,000 Paving & landscaping $500,000 Subtotal $2,081,000 Design & Engineering $208,100 Contingency $312,150 Total $2,601,250.00 Seven-foot Storm Alternative Component Cost 4,000 feet of 7-foot Storm sewer $1,120,000 within Road to Central Park Ave. Restoration and Repaying $326,000 2600 feet of 7-foot storm sewer $728,000 fi.om Central Park Ave to Duck Creek Restoration $106,000 Sub-Total $2,280,000 Design & Engineering $228,000 Contingency $342,000 Total $2,850,000.00 Phase H: Other Campus Stormwater Features Under Phase I, flooding of Locust Street and Cosgrove Hall will be eliminated up to a 100-year storm event and runoff volumes and rates will be reduced downstream. However, during events greater than a 10-year storm, overland flow from the South Detention area will continue to occur and the total discharge at the northwest comer of campus will be greater than the capacity of the City storm sewer. O'he storm sewer capacity is equivalent to approximately the 2-year discharge rate at that location.) Under Phase H, conveyance and stormwater features would be added to more safely transmit large event flows through campus and to limit discharge to the capacity of the existing City storm sewer. These features are as outline previously in this report. The estimated costs of these features are as outline below. Conveyance and North Detention (Phase H) Component Cost Conveyance through campus $300,000 3.5 acre-feet underground detention $875,000 3.5 acre-feet above ground $114,000 detention excavation Filter beds $68,000 Landscaping 57,000 Subtotal $1,414,000 Design & Engineering $141,400 Contingency $212,100 Toad $1,767,500.00 I Phase III: Campus Amenities The additional features in Phase 111 are campus amenities to provide water art features such as fountains and other displays. These features are outlined below. Campus Amenities Component Cost Library Mall water feature $434,000 Hayes Hall water feature $200,000 University Center water feature $100,000 Subtotal $734,000 Design & Engineering $73,400 Contingency $110,100 Total $917,500.00 Phases I, II, and III are depicted in Figures 18 and 19. The costs above do not include costs for parking lot bioswales or green roofs, which would be part of the cost of constructing the parking lots and buildings. If properly integrated into the design, the bioswales and green roofs should not increase the cost of these facilities or, at most, the increase should be very moderate. Recommendations 1. The University Center is currently under design and it is essential that the parking lot for the Center be constructed with bioswales or other stormwater management measures to prevent increases in an already serious flooding problem. 2. The University should proceed with design and preparation of construction documents for the South Detention features outline in Phase I. This will reduce campus flooding and at the same time address flooding and erosion problems downstream. The University should approach the City of Davenport for financial assistance in design and implementation of these features as the majority of the drainage area contributing to the parking lot flooding is off campus. 3. The University should identify funding sources, including the City of Davenport, U.S. EPA, and the National Endowment for the Arts to fund the north detention, conveyance, and water features of Phases II and 1II. 4. As the university expands, constructing additional buildings and parking lots, it should implement the onsite stormwater features identified in this plan including bioswales constructed within parking lots and green roofs or other roof runoff management measures for new buildings. 5. The University, the local Soil and Water Conservation District, and the City of Davenport should work cooperatively to provide technical and financial assistance for the homeowners south of campus in implementing stormwater management practices on their properties. Funding should be sought from U.S. EPA to assist in this effort, as it would be an excellent demonstration project for urban runoff management. 6. The City of Davenport, the local Soil and Water Conservation District, and other interested parties should develop and implement a plan to stabilize the Duck Creek tributary north of Central Park Avenue. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I u~ Water Movement.Diagram i I I I I I I I I I I I Water Movement Through Campus J I I I LANDSCAPING Integrating Native Landscapes ShoreFme ~ Tellab~ Bolin~brook Facili~ in Naperville, Illinois bede and after landscape design. ~ land plara'~g and envkonmental services firm of Conservation Design Forum, Inc. (CDF) is dedicated to promoting the integration of native landscape systems as an alternative landscape treatment for 44 · September/October 2000 private and pubflc landscapes throughout the Midwest. A primary goal of this approach is to create cost-effective, functionally integrated, and aesthetically rich landscapes. The integration of native land- scape systems, however, represents far more than iust an alternative landscape Iand andWater treatment. Native landscapes are an impor- tant component of an environmentally mstainable, economically sensible approach to land planning and development for all Wpes of land use. including commercial, corporate, and institutional campuses, parks and open space systems, and residential The proper design, installation, and management of native landscapes will create a living system, including a diverse community of plant species that can sustain itself and thrive in the unique temperature and moisture extremes of the Midwest. From an aesthetic point of view, native landscapes produce a constantly changing pattern of striking colors and textures fl-xougbout the seasons, including the winter landscape, which provides a study of warm tones and textures. Native landscapes also can resuk in significant environmental benefits and cost savings. Typical environmental benefits include: reduced surface water runoff and downstream flooding; reduced soil erog~on, including the redevelopment of organic top- soil; increased groundwater recharge; enhanced regional air and water quality; and increased biolo~cal diversity of both plants and animals. Long-term maint~ce cost savings can also be significant, often resulting in 80-90% annual cost reductions once the native landscape system is proper- ly esmbFtshed, a process that generally takes %10 years. Background and Benefits of a Native landscape Approach Traditional landscape design standards throughout urban and suburban America are characterized by large expanses of grass lawn, regimented beds of ornamental shrubs, flowers, and ground covers, and a wide variety- of introduced or non-native trees. This design philosophy, fostered in large part by influences from English and other European gardens, has been repeated over and over in both private and public environments. Common to all of these landscapes is the high le~qel of matntcmance required to preserve the desired appear- ance. This landscape development approach generally results in the necessity of frequent lawn watering and mowing, and the liberal application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, many of which are potentially hazardous to the LANDSCAPING environment, as well as to humans. These traditional landscapes also require murine shearing, pruning, weeding, trimming and spraying associated with conventional sNmb and planting beds. This situation not only creates an expensive mandatory cycle of perpetual care, it puts ever growing pres- sure on the diminishing capacity of lanclftlls. Consequently-, by- reducing the quantity of turf gross lawn and ornamental or non- native plant species, an environment can be created that is visually attractive, easier to maintain, ecologically functional and appro- priate to the local climate and terrain. As mentioned above, the incorporation of native plant material into appropriate landscape settings provides a variety of ben- efits. These benefits generally can be grouped into three categories: natural; social; and economic. Natural benefits include such items as reduced surface water runoff and soil erosion, increased knetltmtion and groundwater recharge, enhanced air and water quality, and increased biological diversity. Social benefits include opposmni- ties for increased public environmental education and awareness, regional flood control, and the promotion of an environ- mentally stable land development ethic. Economic benefits include such factors as the significant reduction of annual mainte- nance costs and the opporttmity to scale back overall infrastructure needs, which reduces ~ capital development costs. First, however, it may be helpful to explain what native or naturalistic landscaping represents. Native plants are those species that have adapted to a specific site or region for centuries or even thou- sands of years. They are dependable plants, adapted to the moisture, temperature, insects, wildlife and diseases of a particular region. Today, these species are quite rare, often relegated to small tracts of remnant land. Most of our native landscapes have been destroyed, or significantly degraded, due to agricultural and urban development. In distuthed areas, such as roadsides, mead- ows and fields, our native species have largely been replaced by a relatively small variety of Eurasian grasses and flowers. The biological value of these few weedy intro- duced plants is significantly lower than that associated with our diverse namtai plant communities which were composed of an average of 700 - 1,000 native plants per county across the Midwest. The growth character and adaptations of our native pmMe and woodlands flowers, grasses, and sedges are quite unique. Most of the phnt mass of a prairie community is underground. It is the extensive root system, which often reaches 10 feet or deeper, that is capable of punetmting the impermeable clay layers found throughout much of Midaa, est's ghcial ill. This intricate network of roots anchors the soil and cre- ams countless avenues for water to move For More Informa§on, Circle 4¢37 land and Water September/October 2000.45 ILANDSCAPING Sears Prairie Stone corPOrate Campus in Hoffman Estates, IIl~.ois~ Another example of sustainabin land use plannin&, Ifrom the surface layer into the root zone or for roots to mine deep groundwater sup- plies during times of drought. In contrast, traditional tuff grass lawns possess dense, I matted shallow roots that incapable of are peneUating deeply into the soil. w~th mini- real pore spaces, rainfall tends to nm off the land mt.her than to infiltrate into the soil layer. This creates a situation where fie- quent lawn watering is necessary, even shortly after a rainfall event. - What many of us do not realize is tNit most turf grass lawns are comprised of cool season grasses that are not native to North Wholesale Seed to the Reclamation andRestorati0n Industries California .Native Grasses, Wildflowers & Forbs special CoU~ctions Available America and certainly not native to the upper Midwest. These cool season grasses, including Kentucky Blue Grass, are native to cool, moist regions of Europe and Asia. While cool temperatures and abundant moisture in the Spring are conducive to ini- tial growth, conventional turf grasses must often rely on mechanical means, induding watering and fertilization to sm'vive a hot, extended dry period during the summer morghs. When weakened, these non-native grasses are often incapable of surviving attacks from pests and cannot resist the invasion of weeds. Because es~lished native systems do not need fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and watering to be maintained, the ground- water zone is not depleted and the overall environmental health of the site is improved. The incorporation of native plants into our landscape does not mean that they are maintenance free. The amount of care, however, is significantly reduced. Once established through proper installation and stewardsNp, these native ground and canopy covers will successfully choke out weedy competition. Soil erosion is reduced or eliminated and the means for rebuilding Since ~ ~.,.1 ~ INC Distn'buto~s off. · Hydlo,-BhnketTM MBFM · RegreenTM sterile hybrid wheatgrass · BIOSOL® natural fertilizer · EndoNet mycorrhizal inoculum 6144-A Industrial Way · Livermore, CA 94550 (925) 373-4417 ° FAX (925) 373-6855 E-MaiE pcseed~ilworkinet.att a~et 46 * September/October 2000 For More Information, Circle #39 LANDSCAPING a rich organic soil layer is reintroduced. Surface water runoff can be significantly reduced, which lessens the impacts of downstream flooding and improving the quality of water that leaves th6 site. By no means are we advocating the exclnsion of ornamental species or the discontinuance of our traditional landscapes. We are advocating, howes-er, a more envi- ronmentally sound balance between the use of native and traditional landscape dements. This balance can be achieved in many Ways that can provide design and program flexiN~ty to any site. It is our opinion that native landscapes can be integrated creative- 15' into victu~y all settings. A native landscape is a ~-ital compo- nent of a plaenSng and development ethic Firmly grounded in an understanding of the fxmction of our natural systems. Integrating native landscape systems into built environments provides a starting point for uncovering our ecological pastl which equips us to accommodate sustainable approaches to current and future uses of land. These are living landscapes tha!~ pro- vide a constantly changing army of colors and textures throughout the year. The3,' offer an oppommity for ns all to reconnect ourselves to the fimction and beauty of our natural environments, and to understand better the importance of maintaining a sus- tainable cultural relationship without the earth's natural resources, l,CaW For more information, contact fim Patchett, Conservation Design Forum, Inc., 324 North York Rd., Elmhurst, IL 60126, (630) 758-03 5_~ fax (630) 758-0320. Suburban and urban environments often face air pollution concems. Native systems can be veW beneficial in terms of air quality enhancement. Prairie systems, for example, are NgNy efficient in their abil- itT to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fix net amounts in their extensive root systems. This annual net accumulati0rl of soil organic carbon (SOO is responsible for tl4~ formation of the black. organic topsoil that was the l:btmdation of our Midwest agricultural community. The pmn'ie envn'onment, often referroa to as a virtual "dean air machine", is nmy one of the more remarkable ecosystems in the world. Much the same is tree for the native wetlands savanna, and woodland communi- ties of the Midwest. In addition to the many environmental benefits, a carefully selected palette of native plants will produce a variety of striking colors and textures throughout the season, which creates a pleasing aesthetic, as well as a healthy, biologically diverse system. The diverse palette of native plant materials associared with the various habitats can be selected and planted in a naturalized ~ontext, or they may be utilized in a more stylized or ornamental approach. The more ornamental approach can be panicularly effective for providing appropti- ate accents or transitions between the refined elements of the built environment and the more natural qualities of the adjacent prairie or woodland environments. land and Water September/October 2000.47 I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I Professional Experience James M. Patchett, ASLA President Jim Patchett has a p~ofessional background that combines his affinity for the outdoors with his experience as a landscape architect and hydrologist in the development of natural ano resource-based site planning and design strategies. In over twenty years of practice, Jim has worked for a.public conservancy agency and both large and small private firms. As the Environmental Services Manager in the Chicago office of Johnson johnson & Roy, Jim directed the development of ecological strategies for pro]ecU such as: Prairie Stone in Hoffman Estates, IL, Tellabs Research and Development Campus in Bolingbrook, IL, and the University Research Park in .Madisofi, WI. Looking to further develop this.ecological philosophy and ~green~ development initiative, Jim founded Conservation Design Forum in 1994. In addition to serving as President of CDF, Jim serves as the Chair of the American Society of Landscape Architects Professional interest Group in Water Conservation, and is a collaborative facuit~ member in iowa State University's Department of Landscape Architecture. Conservation Design Forum Elmhurst, Illinois 1994 - present As President of CDF, Jim oversees and participates in environmental analyses and the preparation of environmental documents, site planning and design, wetland permitting and mitigation, and stormwater management planning. He routinely presents'at-workshops, conferences, and seminars on sustainable development topics. Representative projects include: Coffee Creek Center Chesterton, Indiana Dunes Country at Furnessville Porter Count, Indiana Route 47/Kishwaukee River Master Plan McHenry County, Illinois Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden Chicago, Illinois Blackberry Creek Watershed Plan Kane County, illinois Jutterfield Creek Watershed Matteson, Illinois · Hallett's Quarry Ames, Iowa Johnson Johnson & Roy, Inc. Ann Arbor, Michigan 1987 - 1994 Becke~ & Raeder, lnc. Ann Arbor, Michigan 1986-1987 Story County-Conservation Board Ames, Iowa 1979 - 1984 Registration Landscape Architect - Illinois # 157-001029 Landscape Architect - Iowa #388 Landscape Architect - Indiana # LA29900009 Landscape Architect - Michigan #3901001061 Landscape Architect - Wisconsin #427-014 Education University of Michigan Ph.D. Pre-Candidate. School of Natural Resources, 1984-86 Iowa State University MS; Civil Engineering, Major: Water Resources, 1985 Iowa State University MLA, 1981 Iowa State University BSLA, 1975 Professional Affiliations American Society of Landscape Architects, Member ASLA National Committee on Water Conservation. Chair Association of State Floodplain Managers, Member Associate Professor, Department of L~ndscape Architecture, Iowa State University 'Professional Experience Thomas H. Price, PE Principal Director of Water Resource Engineering Tom received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Tom's course work focused on urban hydrology and water resources engineering. During his nearly 15 years of practice, Tom has been involved in a wide variety o;f stormwater and non-point source pollution management activities. These have included assisting watershed organizations in preparing watershed management plans, planning, designing, and implementing stormwater best managem&nt practices, and teaching courses on designing and implementing BMPs. BMPs have ranged from naturalized detention basins to sand filters to streambank and shoreline'restoration. A ~ignificant emphasis of Tom's work has been addressing the hydrologic impacts of watershed development through integration of stormwater drainage and .retention systems into the overall developrhe'nt plan. The intent of this integration is to utilize the landscape to absorb runoff for the purpose of improving onsKe natural resource amenities and.reducing offsite impacts. Tom is experienced in hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality modeling. Tom has been developing hydrologic modeling protocols and developing watershed hydrology models for DuPage County, Illinois since 1980. Tom is currently working with USEPA, Illinois DNR, and Kane .County in developing modeling and ex~aluation methods to assess the potential stream and wetland impacts of hydro!ogic changes under alternative future scenarios, in the Blackberry Creek watershed. Tom has experience with the HEC1, TR20, H.SPF, HEC2, and P8 models. Conservation Design Forum Elmhurst, Illinois 2000 - present As the Director of Water Resource Engineering, Mr. Price is responsible for the oversight of all engineering aspects and the integration of this discipline into every project at CDF. Working closely with other design professionals, Mr. 'Price continues to identify and implement innovative stormwater management '!echriiques'in order to prevent and mitigate the impacts of urban'development. He routinely presents at workshops, conferences, and seminars on sustainable development topics. Representative projects include: R(ver Action, Donneybrook Creek Rapids City, Illinois Prairie Lakes Stormwater Wetland Biofilter Homewood, Illinois J~lackherry Creek Watershed Management Plan Kane and Kendall Counties, Illinois. Flint Creek Watershed Restoration (plan & various implementation projects) Lake County, Illinois' Zurich Lake Sand FilteFs ' Lake Zurich, Illinois Chicago Botanical Garden Glencoe, Illinois ~ittle Calumet River Project Gary, Indiana Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission Chicago, Illinois 1990 - 2000 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District Chicago, Illinois 1988 - 1990 Donohue and Associates, Inc. Itasca, lllirtois 1985 - 1988 Registration Professional Engineer: illinois #62044971 Education University of Wisconsin MS, Civil Engineering, 1985. Urban Hydrology; Stormwater Management, and Rainfall Runoff Modeling. University of Wisconsin BS, Civil Engineering, 1983. Water Resources Engineering. Professional AffiliatiOns Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, Technical Advisory Committee.. Village of West Dundee, Plan Commissioner. . American Society of Civil Engineers. Illinois ~ssociation for Floodplain and Stormwater Management. Publications and Presentations Lau, 'O'Toole, and Price. Impact of Local Detention in Reducing Regional Flood Flows. In Proceedings of the ASCE Water Resources Symposium. Rosemont, IL. October 1987 'Dreher; D.W. and T.H. Price. Application of Urban T~rgeting and Prioritization Methodology to Butteffield Creek, Cook and Will Counties, Illinois. In Seminar Publication-National Conference on Urban Runoff Management: Enhancing Urban Watershed Management at the Local, County, and State Levels. Chicago, IL. April 1993. Apfelba~m, S.I., J.D. Eppich, T.H. Price, and M. Sands. 'The Prairie Crossing Project: Attaining Quality and Stormwater Management Go. als in a Conservation Development. In proceedings of LJsing Ecologica! Restoration to Meet Clean Water Act Goals, A National Symposium, Chicago, IL. March 1995. . ·. Dreher and Price. 1995. Best Management Practices Guidebook for Local Officials. Northeastern [liinois Planning Commission. Innovative Stormwater. Management Practices Using Native Landscaping. Presented at "Native Landscapes for Large Properties" workshop sponsored by USEPA and held at the Chicago [~otanic Garden, G lencoe, IIs. February 1996. Bradley, Cooper, & Price. Floodplain Mapping Using Continuous Hydrologic and Hydraulic Simulation Models. In Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. American Society of Engineers. ApYi11996. Dreher and Price. 1997. Reducing the Impacts of Urban Runoff: The Advantages of Alternative Site Desig~ Approaches. Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. Price, Sdhultz, & Brand. Urban Stormwater Best Management Practices for Northe~tstern 17linois: Course Notebook. Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. Revised i~dition, January 2000. Professional Experience Thomas E. Ennis, PE Principal Director of Ecological Engineering Mr. Ennis has a variety of traditional and innovative civil and environmental engineering experience .in the areas of stormwater management, wastewater treatment and reuse, water supply and treatment, and roadway design throughout the United States with some prgjects in Africa and Europe. He started and ran his own engineering firm for 9 years until completing the sale of the finn in 2002. His stormwater designs have won awards for the innovative approaches to 'managing quality and quantity. These systems have been for sites as small as single-family residences to entire communities. He worked on an approach to gtilize the Deep Tunnel in Chicago to generate electrical power and at the same time improve water quality. Much of }~is eyperience 'has included natural systems either for Wastewater treatment or stormwater management. To date he has .been involved in over 60 water reuse systems including dual distribution for one community and snow maki'ng with wastewates at a ski resort. Wastewater systems hav~ ranged in size from 50 gallons per day to 5 million gallons per day. Water supply and treatment gystems have included treatment for hardness, iron, barium, radium, hydrogen su]fide and softness. He has modeled distribution systems for communities up to 50,000 residents and for Argonne National Laboratory. On the Navojo Reservation, he constructed horizontal, water supply wells. He has managed the design of roadway systems including a planned community for about 6,000 residences. He has also p~rformed civil engineering se~ices'for churches, commercial and industrial sites, and educational institutions.. Conservation Design Forum EImhurst, Illinois July 2002 - present As the Director of Ecological Engineering, Mr. Ennis is responsible for the oversigh~ of all engineering aspects and the integration of this discipline into every project at CDF. Although not a familiar term, the ecological engineering discipline seeks to utilize ~atural systems in such a manner to minimize man's effect on the environment~ In order to implement these designs effectively, the ecological engineer must understand the foundation of traditional engineering disciplines. Representative projects include: Riverside Park Stormwater Management Chicago, Illinois Riverwoods Christian Center Water Reuse System St. Charles, Illinois CTI Composting Facility Water Quality Review Eddyville, Iowa Farnsworth Group, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 2000-2002 Ennis Engineering, Ltd. Geneva, Illinois 1991-2000 Sheaffer & Roland, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 1988-1991 HNTB Chicago, Illinois 1984-1988 Village of Oak Brook Oak Brook, Illinois 1983-1984 Huff & Huff, Inc. LaGrange, Illinois Registration Professional Engineer: Illinois #62044779 Professional Engineer: indiana #60920466 Education Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology BS; Civil Engineering with Environmental Option (Year) American Public Works Association Water Environment Association (Water Reuse Specialty Committee) · Friends of the Fox River (Vice President) Awards Kres~wood Trails Stormwater Management Project, McHenry, Illinois. Merit Award, Consulting Engineering Council, 2001. Kresswood Trails Stormwat~r Management Project, McHenry, Illinois. Best Environmental Project from $500,000 to $2 million, American Public Works Association, 2000. Geneva / St. Charles Water Resource Preserve, Geneva, Illinois. Best Planning Award, Kane County Planqers Association~ 1996. Church-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, Winnetka Illinois. Historical Preservation Award, Winnetka Historical Commission, 1998. . Dunes Count.ry.Community, Furnessville, indiana. Merit Award, American Society of Landscape ArcEitects, 2001. Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois. Merit Award~ American Society of Landscape Architects, 2001. Lectures and Presentations I I I I I A Case for Sustainable Design, University of Wisconsin, Madison, August, 2000. Water Reuse in the Heartland, Water Enviroffment Fede(ation/American Water' Works Association, 2000. Greywgter Systems, American Society of Plumbing Engineers, January, 1999'. Future of the Fox River, K~ne Cdunty Water Association, May, 1999. Status of Water Reuse in Illinois, I[lin0is Association of Water Pollution Control Operators, 1995. David J. Yocca, ASLA, AICP Senior Partner Director of Landscape Architecture and Planning Professional Experience David ¥occa ii a landscape architect and planner motivated primarily by the desire to facilitate healthy, sustainable communities that inspire their residents. Following a wide range of work experiences.in construction and related fields during college, Mr. Yocca's professional career began in a small planning and design firm, where he' completed numerous projects while helping it grow from a staff of 3 to 25 in le~s than 10 years. With an intimate knowledge of land development issues, Mr. Yocca's interests tdrned '~o culturally sustainable patterns of se~lement based upon the principles of New Urbanism and eco]ogically based desigm Prior to joining CDF, Mr. Yocca served a role in a wide array of planning and design efforts. He was the principal planner for Mill Creek, a 1,500 acre "new Village~ in Kane Count, Illinois, and served as the plann!ng consultant for Elburn, Illinois, a small, rapidly changing village in the path of sprawl on the edge of Chicagoland. Conservation Design Forum Elmhurst, ll!inois 1996 - present As the Director of Landscape Architectu~:e and ?lanning, Mr. Yocca is responsible for the oversight of the design professionals at CDF a~nd all planning and design projects. Mr. Yocca has traveled extensively throughout the United State's and Europe researching "green" building and development technic] ~es to integrate these ideas into CDF's design solutions. He routinely presents at workshops, conferences, and seminars on sustainable development topics. Representative projects include: Coffee CFeek Center Chesterton, Indiana Dunes Country at Furnessville Porter County, Indiana Piano Properties Master Plan Piano, Illinois Route 47/Kishwaukee River Master Plan McHenry County, Illinois ' Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden Chicago, Illinois Queens Botanical Garden Master Plan Flushing,, New York Blackberry Creek Watershed Plan Kane Coun[y, Illinois Round Lake Park Comprehensive Plan (in process) Round Lake Park, Illinois Yocca Design Studio St..Charles, Illinois 1995-1996 The Lannert Group St. Charles, Illinois 1985-1995 Registration Landscape Architect- Illinois # 157-000868 Landscape Architect ~ Iowa #391 Landscape Architect- indiana # LA20000010 Landscape Architect - Wigconsin #421-0i4 Lands!:ape Architact- New York, Limited Practice Certified Planner, American Institute of Certified Planning Education Michigan State University 'BSLA, 1985 Professional Affiliations · AmeriCan Society of Landscape Architects, Member American Planning Association, Member Urban Land Institute, Member Congress for New Urbanism, Member National Association of Home Builders, Member Rotary Club of Geneva, Member and Past President National Bison Association, Member I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Professional Experience Gerould Wilhelm, Ph.D. Senior Partner Director of Environmental Services Dr. Wflhelm's passion for the outdoors is evidenced in ever~ aspect of his professional career. Since 1975, Dr. Wilhelm has become the pre-eminent botanist in his field, conducting floristic inventories and field evaluations of ecosystems throughout North America. This experience has culminated in his co-authoring Plants of the Chicago Region, only one of two such works in the world rated as "excellent" by Robert Frodin, author of A Geographic Guide to the Floras of the World. Dr. Wilhelm is also noted for his development of the 'F]oristic Quality Assessment methodology, a quantitative technique for determining the natural quality of plant communities. Originally developed for the. Chicago region, the methodology has now been adapted for all of Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wiscons!n, parts of the Dakotas and Indiana, arid southern Ontario. Not only a leader in the promotion ora philosophy of environmental sustainability with design professionals, Jerry donates his time to work with volunteer stewards to teach them monitoring methods and data analysis, ecological restoration activities~ and plant iden'dfication throughout the Midwest. Conservation Design Forum Elmhurst, Illinois 1'996 - present As the Director of Environmental Services, Dr.. Wilhelm is responsible for the oversight of the environmental staff at CDF and all environmental aspects of CDF prbjects. His knowledge of native flora and natural systems has been applied to innovative design solutions that involve complex natural resource-based development opportunities. He is also involved in numerous lectures, field seminars, and nature walks. Representative projects include: DuPage Airport Wetland Mitigation Monitoring DuPage Count~,, Illinois Wilson Creek Historic Battlefield Site Missouri Mallard Ridge Facility Eloristic Monitoring Delavan ; Wisconsin Argonne National Lal)oratory Wetland Sampling Chi(ago, Illinois Museums at Prophetstown . Battle Ground, Indiana . Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Monitoring Vegetation Lake County, Porter County, Laporte County, Indiana The Morton Arboretum Lisle, Illinois 1974~1996 Education I I .Southern Illinois University Ph.D. Botany, 1984. Dissertation: Vascular Plants ofthe Pensacola Region. Florida State University BS, Biology, Minor in Chemistry, 1971 Professional Affiliations Michigan Technical Committee on Endangered a~d Threatened Species, Member Illinois Native Plant Society, Member · Natural Areas Association, Member DuPage County Environmental Commission, Member Illinois Acade~qy of Science, Member Indiana Academ~' of Science, Member American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Member Chicago Wilderness Society Team, Chicago Region Biodiversity Initiative, Member Past Board Member, Society of Ecological Restoration Current Research . Vascular flpra and lichens of the Pensacola, J=10Eida region. Vascular flora and lichens of the 22- county Chicago region. Assessment and analysis of natural areas in the context of their relationship to the presettlement scenario and resident human cultures. The restoration, rehabilitation, r0aietenance and management of natural landscapes. The creation of mitigated wetlar~ds and the maintenance and management of natural wetlands. The revegetation of problem soils and dredged material disposal problems, with emphasis on the changing mobilities of heavy metals in developing rhizospheres. The vegetation and communities in the Indiana Dunes region. Infiltration rates of prairies of various ages/types. Publications (Partial List) Wilhelm, Master, and Shimp. 2000. The Illinois populations of Phaeophyscia leana, .one of the world's .rarest lichens. Erigenia 18:66-74. Wilhelm. 1998/ 'The Lichen Flora of Chicago and Vicinity: One Hundred Years of Lichenology." Erigenia, no. 16.:3:36. Patchett and Wilhelm. 1997.. ~Th~ Ecology and Culture of Water." Conservation Design Forum, Elmhurst, IL. Taft, Wilhelm, Ladd and Masters. 1997. #Floristic Quality Assessment for Vegetation in ]1 nois." Erigenia, nol 5:3-95. . Herman, Masters, Penskar, Reznicek, Wilhelm and grodowicz. 1997. ~Floristic Quality Assessment: Development and Application.in the State of Mich igan." Natural Areas Journal, no.' 17:265-279. Patchett and Wilhelm, 1995. *Designing Sustainable Systems." Proc. 2nd Intl. Green Building Conf. and Expos. Natl. Inst. of Stands. and Tech. Sp. Pub. 888:20~36. Swink and Wilhelm. '~ 994. Plants of the Chicago Region. 4t" ed. Indiana Academy of Science, Indianapolis, IN. Wilhe]m and Masters. t994. #Floristic Changes after Five Growing Seasons in Burned and Unburned Woodland.~ Erigenia, no. 13:141-150. Wilhelm. 1991. 'Implications Of Changes in FIoristic Compos!tion of the Morton Arboretum's East Woods.~ Proc: Oak Woods Management Workshop, pages 31-54. Page 1 of 2 Jo~,ce Connors From: To: Sent: Subject: "Patchett, Jim" <jpatchett~cdfinc.com> "Joyce Connors" <jconnors63@mchsi.com> Monday, January 06, 2003 8:32 AM RE: CDF Joyce: With respect to your questions, it is no doubt more challenging to retrofit existing land uses, rather than having the flexibility to design these types of sustainable stormwater management measures into new developments. In most cases, however, there are still many cost effective options available for retrofitting existing conditions. Our philosophy is fairly simple: if we spent the same creativity, and probably a lot less money in the long run, identifying realistic solutions for treating and absorbing water where it falls, we could far more effectively deal with issues related to chronic flooding, water quality degradation, loss of ground water reserves, habitat destruction, and all of the economic and environmental liabilities associated with the mismanagement of water. Unfortunately, contemporary engineers are not adequately trained to understand the full spectrum of water, and particularly the historical patterns of hydrology which must be thoughtfully preserved. In reference to St. Ambrose, the Phase I costs were broken out so that we could more directly compare apples to apples. In other words, evaluate the feasiblity of a sustainable alternative for addressing the severe flooding along Locust Street and within the southeastern portions of the campus, versus the cost of the storm sewer interceptor alternative which would essentially address the same flooding issues. Phases II and III are directed at integrating the remainder of the campus, along with proposed future development, into an overall campus-wide system that would incorporate sustainable stormwater management, aesthetics, etc. I would be pleased to discuss these issues with you directly at your convenience. You may contact me at (630) 559-2025. I would also like to explore strategies for how we might work together to most effectively present these ideas to other members of the community including the City Council. It is likely that we could conduct an assessment of the existing conditions along with a review of current recommended engineering solutions, and quickly determine if other more cost effective sustainable solutions might be available. Such an effort would not take a great deal of time or expense. I will look forward to discussing these issues with you. Thank you for your I/6/03 Page 2 of 2 consideration. Jim. ..... Odginal Message .... From: 3oyce Connors [mailto:jconnors63@mchsi.com] Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 12:35 AM To: Patchett, Jim Subject: CDF Dear James, I sent you an e-mail eadier today but from a different e-address. This is the one I want you to respond to. Thanks. I have another question. In your materials, you talked about a project in Davenport, Iowa, at St. Ambrose University. As I looked at the costs, yours was slightly less than jthe 7-foot storm sewer that had been proposed. However, on the bottom on the page, your have a Phase II which costs another 1.8 Million. Then there is a Phase III. Am I correct in assuming that the final cost then is more using your plan than if the University had put in the storm sewer?. We have a Council meeting on Monday (Jan 6) and I would like to be able to share some of this information with the other members at that time. Thanks for any information you can get to me before that time. I will stay in touch. Joyce Connors 1/6/03 satellite passing over the Midwest region seven year ago pho- tographed a previously umknown "sixth Great Lake;' which had arisen some 300 miles west of Lake Michigan. The ~lake" was in fact a huge mass of stormwater ly/ng over the fields and farms of Iowa during the infamous floods of 1993. The mediate cause of the destructive flooding was a summer rainfall of a magnitude that might be expected to occur just once in a century. Yet many ecologists and landscape special- ists saw a deeper cause, and laid the primary responsibility on hu- man activity that over the past 150 years has totally reconfignred the Midwesfs originallandscape and hydrology. Su& a flood wou/d not have occurred in the times before Eu- ropean settlement, not even during the occasional I00-year rains, insists lira Patchett, a landscape architect with Conservation De- sign Forum (CDF), in Ehuhurst, Illinois. "The storms were com- ing one after another, but after the first storm, the soils were satu- te& t was tike rammg on concrete, saysPatchetcHumanacta,aty, ALA )SER he argues, has deprived the land of its natural ability to absorb rain and carrywater deep tmdergrou.n& The soil is now tiled and ditched and left with no vegetative cover during spring planting. The sixth Great Lake arose when the storm runoff overflowed the manmade channels and left the landscape hopelessly drenched with water. Stormwater that felt on the upper Midwest in presettlement times was absorbed naturally by the deep-rooted plants and soils of the native prakie. It flowed underground in a slow process that allowed rivers and streams to remain at nearly constant levels throughout the year, in rainy seasons and dry. Development for agriculture and for urban uses has overturned this natural system by capturing rain and holding the water in channels and pipes on or near the land's surf:ace. W~ter is now carried off as if it were a kind of waste prod uct, goshing into streams and rivcrs with un nat ural force during thc spring rains. Yet tons of priceless topsoil flow away with ~ater thai is swept off thc Grmlands each year. In urban areas, the huge runofl ftom lawns, which absorb only it small .nmmnt o f water, and paved 42 Urban La.d lune2000 ~uffaces carries toxic pollutants into lakes and streams. The result, a~ ~een across the midwestern states, is degraded and eroded hnd, polluted and severely channelized streams, and a landscape ~ffllcted ~ith intrusive normative plant species. Disruption of the land's nat- urfl water flow has caused a mounting series of interlocldng prob- lern~ leading to a tremendous loss of biodiversity. The profound dis- rupfion of the Midwest's original hydrology raises a serious question for proponents of conservation design: Can land be devdoped with- oul ~aeh damage and loss of natural biodiversity? Coffee Creek Center, a new development located in the town of ~n, Indiana, is trying to find a positive answer to that ques- tion by creating a conservation design on 640 acres of former farm- ~ The owner and devdoper, Lake Erie Land Co. (I .5~.), is a sub- ~td~ of Nipsco Industries Inc., the northern Indiana utility ~, Nipsco and LEL began the master planning in 1994, when Id~ purchased the land with a commitment to build a new com- ~ in the utility company's service area, envisioning a devdop- merit that would ~in value through complete ecological restomtiom Looney Ricks Iass Architects in Memphis and W~lliam McDonough + Parmers, of Charlottesville, Virginia, made contributions to the site's master plan for environmentally sensitive s~actures. The square mile of land has been designed to hold 1,200 resi- dential units and 1 million square feet of commercial and office space. Yet what primarily defines Coffee Creek Canter is a natural asset quite common in the Midwest landscape--a small stream called Coffee Creek that flows northward through the center of the site toward Lake Michigan. The stream is centered in a 200-acre watershed preserve filled with restored prairie, woodlands, and unique wetlands. A restoration effort managed byland restoration · professionals J.F. New & Associates of Walkerton, Indiana, and land- scape designers at Conservation Design Forum has healed the' stream's eroded banks and .s~angthened them with plantings of na- tive grasses. Its channel, straightened by farmers and loggers years ago, has been returned in places to the natural meandering of a prairie stream. Open areas, just two years ago given to cowpasture, were replanted in the MidwesFs deep-rooted grasses. Woods have been thinned and opened to sunlight so that stands of native maples, oaks, beech, and hickories will have a chance to flourish once again. With restoration of the watershed preserve now nearly com- plete, LEL is moving ahead to fill in the east and west sides of the large site. Surrounding the preserve will be a community of resi- dents and businesses. Large two- and three-story commercial build- ings accommodating retail on the ground floors topped by office and residential space will be constructed just west of the preserve, along a neWly laid brick street called Village Point Road. Although intended to form a regional commercial center, the buildings will face inward toward the preservation area and away from nearby Urban Land June2000 4~ H~ghway 49, thereby s~engtheuing the commercial center's con- nection with the local community. Areas east of the preserve will contain a series of residential neighborhoods laid out in tradition- al street grids, each with a mix of single-family detached homes~ town homes, and multiuuit buildings. The masterplan designates space for structures to serve a corn~ mtmity of all ages, with an elementary school and small stores in the neighborhood areas. A corporate campus and hotel will be lo- cated along the east edge of the watershed preserve. The commer- cial area, corporate complex, and neighborhoods will be linked to large public spaces on the site's northern end, where a broad tuff lawn will unfold before a mnltiuse pavilion and a spacious outdoor amphitheater will be set into the landscape abo~ a restored pond. A gradual transition is rna& from the public areas around the pond to tmilheads that lead southward into the woods and clearings of the watershed preserve. There is a complete absence of ~cture to hold stormveater or to remove it from the site,-no retention ponds, no big drainage pipes or other conduits to m~ove water off. Water that falls on this square mile of land will flow again as it flowed before development--~dergro~d~absorbed through the native prairie grasses. In the prairie, water penetrates the ground through long- rooted grasses to enter deep seems and vents in the earth, where it remains or slowly seeps into wetlands and streems. The designers of Coffee Creek Center intend to get this natural system working again by combining restoration expertise with spe- of the watershed preserve, water will regain much of its natural un- derground flow by use of level spreaders: 12-inch-diameter perfo- rated pipes that allow water seepage, running for hundreds of yards from the developed areas into the restored prairies, just below the surface of the ground. A pipe is placed along each 1 -foot contour in land elevation, spaced closely in steep areas and further apart in more level sections of the terrain. In heavy rainfall, the pipes will fill with water and release it through the perforations; water will flow evenly over the land until it is absorbed or falls into the nex~ spreader. Each pipe in turn will carry more water until reaching ca-, pacity, and the process will continue until all water is absorbed in the prairie and wetland areas. The prairie restoration and spread- er activity will help to reestablish the natural hydrological cycle. The restored hydrology'is expected to work even in Coffee Creek Center's most inteusively used public area--the commercial corri- dor along Village Point Road, where the unabsorbed stormwater will flow to a large cistern below a main parking area. When it is full, water w-ill continue flowing under the nearby road to a pond-- once choked with weeds and polluted from the erosion of sur- rounding pasture~that has been cleaned and restored. A plaza built of Wiscousin stone will cover the bank of the pond along Village Point Road, serving as a small park; its two small waterfalls will nat- urally aerate and cleanse the water. When the pond rises in wet sea- sons, excess water will flow under a small stone bridge, a "weir bridge," that allows it to pass out to the prain'e grasses and the cre~ The entire system will maintain the pond at a natural, consistent level throughout the year, while providing a public amenity sur- rounded by the water plaza, the outdoor amphitheater, and the re- stored prairie rields. "What is impressive about this development is the hydrology of the site;' says LEL president Jerry Mobley.''Water is usually treated as v/aste. Here water is treated as an asset and an amenity to be tek- en care of in a conservation design that uses stormwater manage- ment to restore the land's original water flow:' Plans also call for wastewater recycling on the site in the most northerly area, above the amphitheater and across a small road in a constructed wetland. While Coffee Creek Center is required by the town of Chesterton to be connected to the municipal waste- water treatment system, the developers intend to gradually imple- ment the on-site natural system and hope to eventually reach ca- pacity of 150,00 gallons per day. The ecological restoration and hydrological reengineering of the site have been underway for two years; the first model homes are just now getting started. Such acute concern for conservation &- 44 Urban Land June20OO Highway 49, thereby strengthening the commercial center's con- nection with the local commun/ty. Areas east of the preserve will contain a series of residential neighborhoods laid out in tradition- al street grids, each with a mix of single-family detached homas~ town homes, and multimait buildings. The master.plan designates space for strucmras to serve a com- mtmity of all ages, with an elementar~ school and small stores in the neighborhood areas. A corporate campus and hotel will be lo- cated along the east edge of the watershed preserve. The commer- cml area, corporate complex, mad neighborhoods will be linked to large public spaces on the site's northern end, where a broad turf lawn will unfold before a multiuse pavilion and a spacious outdoor amphitheater will be set into the landscape above a restored pond. A gradualmmsition is made from the public areas around the pond to trailheads that lead southward into the woods and dearings of the watershed pre~erve. There is a complete absence of inil~tmctore to hold stormwater or to remove it from the site,-no retention ponds, no big drainage pipes or other conduits to move water oS Water that falls on this square mile of land will flow again as it flowed before development--underground--absorbed through the native prairie grasses. In the prairie, water penetrates the ground through long- rooted grasses to enter deep se~ms and vents in the earth, where it remains or slowly seeps into wetlands and streams. The designers of Coffee Creek Center intend to get this natural s~m working again by combiuing restoration expertise with spe- of the watershed preserve, water will regain much ofits natural un- derground flow by use of level spreaders: 12-inch-diameter perfo- rated pipes that allow water seepage, running for hundreds of yards from the developed areas into the restored prairies, just below the surface of the ground. A pipe is placed along each I -foot contour in land elevation, spaced doselyin steep areas and further apart in more level sections of the terrain. In heavy rainfall, the pipes will fill with water and release it through the perforations; water will flow evenly over the !and until it is absorbed or falls into the next spreader. Each pipe in turn will carry more water until reaching ca-~ pacity, and the process will continue until all water is absorbed in the prairie and wetland areas. The prairie restoration and spread- er activity will help to reestablish the natural hydrological cycle. The restored hydrology is expected to work even in Coffee Creek Center's most intenslvely used public area~e commercial corri- dor along V'ffiage Point Road, where the unabsorbed stormwater will flow to a large cistern below.a main parking area. When it .is full, water will continue flowing uhder the nearby mad to a pond-- once choked with weeds and polluted from the erosion of sur- rounding pasture~that has been cleaned and restored. A plaza built of Wisconsin stone will cover the bank of the pond along Village Point Road, serving as a small park; its two small waterfalls wifl nat- urally aerate and cleanse the water. When the pond rises in wet sea- sons, excess water will flow under a smalt stone bridge, a "weir bridge," that allows it to pass out to the prairie grasses and the creek. The entire system will maintain the pond at a natural, consistent level throughout the year, while providing a public amenity sur- rounded by the water plaza, the outdoor amphitheater, and the re- stored prairie fields. '~/txat is impressive about this development is the hydrology of the site;' says LEL president Jerry Mobley. "Water is usually treated as w~ste. Here water is treated as an asset and an amenity to be tak- en care of ha a conservation design that uses stormwater manage- ment to restore the land's original water flow: Plans also call for wastewater recyeling on the site in the most northerly area, above the mmphitheater and across a small road in a constructed wetland. While Coffee Creek Center is required by the town o£ Chesterton to be connected to the municipal waste- water treatment system, the developers intend to gradually imple- ment the on-site natural system and hope to eventually reach ca- pacity of 150,00 gallons per day. The ecological restoration and hydrological reengineering of the site have been underway for two years; the first model homes are just now getting started. Such acute concern for conservation de- 44 Urban Land tune2000 are set across the creek by helicopter to avoid soil compaction, and where pedestrian bridges and boardwalks are built of sustainably harvested California redwood to prevent toxins from pretreated lumber contam~afing the soil, in addition to a host of other sub- fie environmental factors that have been taken into account~ The question then is, "How can this development make money?" · ~Nipsco Industries Inc. was willing to provide funds up ficont, with a cash contribution to let us prove that this project can be prof- itable;' says LEEs Mob]ey. The developers fmesaw a 15-year build- out, with a first phase of 225 homes and a retirement facility com- ing on the market late this year. To sell the homes, LEL will draw on a market area that falls within the far-reaelSaag commuter shed of Chicago. With an average price of $200,000, the homes should ap- pear a bargain to metropolitan commuters. Despite past hardships of the steel industry in nearby Gat% the regional economy is ex- pected to resume moderate growth during the next 20 years. These market factors would encourage many developers to proceed, espe- dally if backed by a corporate investor ~g to wait on returns. The real long-term value offered at Coffee Creek derives from the conservation design itsel~ LEL has reversed the usual develop- ment paradigm and has p~oposed not privatizing the best areas, the premium spaces, but keeping them open for access by ~ According to Moble% there are no intentions to enhance profits by making the site a reserve of luxury homes. LEL, he says, will span the market, ]5rom pricey manor homes to towe, houses, condominiums, rentals, and seniors' housing. A few of the manor homes will border on the preserve, with views of the woodland and stream, while the rest are well away in neighborhoods buffered from the preservation area by restored prah'ie fields."This kind of development wili be com- mon one day," says Mobley. "It is what we're all looking for." The 200-acre preservation area is designed to define the com- munity by serving as its center and by linking all components of the community together. As founder of the Coffee Creek Water- shed Conservancy, a nonprofit group dedicated to monitoring and managing the preserve and the whole creek watershed, Mobley says he is making sure that the community retains its quality far into the future. Ownership of the watershed preserve was deeded to the Watershed Conservancy, whose membership includes leaders fi:om local and national environmental foundations. Special guidelines call for its management according to the most current understanding of the region's native ecolog% A Coffee Creek property owners' as- sodation fee will pay for common area maintenance. tershed ways to continually increase their understmading and ap- predation for the land. All local residents will be invited to enjoy the watershed preserve and to develop a sense of stewardship for their town's natural resources; they may form counc'fls or associs- tions to educate users of the preserve and to encourage participa- lion in caring for the land. Special covenants, conditions, and re- st~clions (CC&Rs) that emphasize volunteerism and community involvement have been devised byWayne Hya~ a consulting lawyer ' for the Coffee Creek development. · Residents of Chesterton can enjoy the preservation area on thelr doorsteps.and witness the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy's continual management efforts, says Conservation Design Forum's Patchett. They ~ live atop a restored hydrological system, with their water system closely finked to the nearby wetlands and prairie fields. They can walk trails leading tbxough prairie and woodlands, discovering in the preserve an i~exhaus~%1e source of learning. De- signers of Coffee Creek Center say they are seeking to realize a cen- tralprinciple of conservation desig~ good preservation is not pro- tection of untouched and unSathabited nature, but a mutually beneficial relationship in which people strengthen and are strength- ened by the natural world. · More than just providing funding, residents willbe encouraged .4s~ua P. lVl~mos~ ~s ~ss~rmr~ Pxac~,am mR 'me NOR~ Izze~xs to jo'm in the management effort and to discover in the cceek wa- Pm~a,a~G Co~vnss~o~, C~cac, o, Lu~o~s. Reprinted from Urban Land, published by ULI-the Urban Land Institute, 1025 Thomas Jefferson St., N.W., Suite 500 West, Washington, DC 20007. Urban Land Jtme2000 45 THE ECOLOGY AND CULTURE OF WATER James M. Patchett & Gerould S. Wilhelm Conservation Design Forum, Inc. 324 N. York, Elmhutst, IL 60126 Revised July, 1999 Introduction Two free resources that drive all biotic and abiotic prOcesses, sustaining all life on earth, are water and light energy. All places and living things can be defined by the way they handle these two resources, the processes of which are grounded in complex interactions with local biological and mineral resources. The enlke surficial environment of the earth-geology, soil, topography, flora, fauna-is mediated by water. Ail living things develop in an aqueous medium in their own genetically defined ways. As a society, we are becoming ineseasfagly aware that the earth's resources are not limitless. It is less understood, however, that the ab'diB' for the earth's natural ecosystems to mitigate the changes we impose, and still be able to continue functioning sustainably, is also limited. Jean Prior (1991) discusses t?ds concept clearly: "People may modify the land to suit their purposes, but it is wise to remember that the land must be used in accordance with its capacities as established by geologic history and ex- pressed in landscape shapes and underlying deposits, including groundwater and mineral resources." Although vitally important to all life sys' terns, water remains one of the most misunderstood and mismanaged resources on earth. When we are unaware of, ignore, or are wasteful in our relationship to the interaction of water with other natural resources, water can become a waste product and potentially a powerful source of destruction. Our culture, however, has become functionally detached from an understanding of how the natural world around us works, unaware of its realifies, and unmindful of its capacities. We have lost touch with the importance of a sustainable cultural relationship with land and water, and largely forsaken the human relationship with the natural, environment. Our technologies permit us to extract sources from distant places, and import them at great expense, allowing us to defer accountability for unsnstainable behavior insofar as our limited capacity to deflect or defer accountability for our own relationships with land and water appears to be born of a belief that there are no real rules in Short of inexorable geologic change, the extent to which we mismanage natural systems, either intentionally or through a failure to comprehend the rules and inherent capacities of our surrounding natural systems, is the extent to which these systems become more dysfunctional Mismanagement of water is a primary factor in this ineseasing level of ~cosystem dysfunction. The range of adverse impacts associated with an inattentiveness to the relationships of water in built and natural environments is profound: Many "natural disasters," such as floods, landslides, erosion, and other changes, such as loss of biodiversity, aquifer depletion, and climatic change can be traced to our failure to understand the ecology of ware[. Understanding the human retafiouship to the interaction of water with the geology, soils, topography, flora, and fauna unique to a place is a first step by which a culture can learn to live sustainably. The purpose of this paper is to examine current problems associated with the human relafionstdp to land and water and to suggest that there are creative and economically crucial solutions. It will focus on the ecology of water within the physical context of the Ckicago region and the Midwest, and while the basic principles evaluated here are adaptable to other geographic contexts, the spec'fflc applications of solutions will vary. Nature's Hydrology Throughout the glaciated regions of the upper Midwest, most natural wetlands and aquatic systems, including the lakes, streams, ~and rivers were formed either from direct precipitation or from groundwater discharge. In our biome, aquifer recharge occurred prevailingly in upland landscapes, and few natural wetlands were formed from surface runoffwater. Historically, water infiltrated the deep-rooted ~egetation of prairies and woodlands, setting up a flownet relationship below the surface that is dependent on topography and the characteristics of the underlying fill stratigraphy. According to Richardson, Wilding, and Daniels (1992), there are four kinds of watar movement dominant in soil deyelopmunt in the glaciated Midwest: 1) recharge, or water move- ment to the water table; 2) flowthrungh, or lateral groundwater movement; 3) discharge, or movement from the water table either to or near the soil surface; and 4) stagnation, or slow water movement creating water table mounds. The glacial geology of the upper. Midwest is characterized by limestone Or dolomific bedrock, overlain by gravels, stmds, silts, and clays derived from such bedrock. When water moves through these substrates, carbonates can dissolve in the slow-moving groundwater, and the discharge will tend to be rich in bicarbonates. Bicathonate-rich water that discharges through upward movement due to evapotranspkation potentials will precipitate carbonates near the soil surface, whereas water that discharges near the water table, such as in seeps and fens, will remain both bicarbonate- . rich and isqthermic. Either method of groundwater discharge provides a surface habitat that is virtually stable in its physicochemical and hydrologic properties. Although water in local wetlands varied · enormously with regard to the mixture of groundwater discharge and direct precipitation, most of our more than 700 native wetland plant species are adapted to the stable habitats created by. the blend of groundwater discharge and precipitation. Most of these species are dan~izens of either alkaline or ckcunmeutral conditions. According to Swink and Wilhelm (1994), there are five basic types of wetlands in the region of southern Lake .Michigan. These wetlands can be classified generally as aquatic, marsh, fen, bog, and swamp. Unfortunately, few of these wetland habitats remain intact today, and few people are aware 9f their natural attributes, either their inherent biodiversity or their ineffable beauty. To help the reader appreciate the diversity of our local wetland habitats and the varied roles of water distribution in their formation and sustenance, the major comrmmity types are described below. (Note that surface runoff water, other than clean spring snow melt, is not ~ siguificant factor in healthy wetland systems.) Aquatic plant communities are occasional throughunt the region. They formed in potholes and in lacustrine plains where there was little or no surface discharge. Aquatic comanunities are sustained by waters from a surrounding watershed greater than that provided by rain over their surfaces. Generally, these excess waters 'filter down through vegetated ambient ground into the underlying soil until they reach impe~vions material, and exit by way of springs, rills, or seeps. Along our major streams, aquatic plant communities developed in alluvial sloughs and ponds derived from surface melt or tributary streams. Depending upon the groundwater contribution, aquatic waters ranged from hard to soft, or else they consisted of still-flowing alluvial waters. Marsh plant communities generally occur along the transition between aquatic commurdties and drier connnan/ties, or in large flats that are regularly inundated by shallow surface waters for much of the growing season. Marshes are best developed locally in . the lake plain, 'in lacustrine fiats, and along the lower reaches of the Des Plaines and 3rankakee river drainages. The sedge meadow, a community with affinities to fens and wet prakies, develops 'in large, shallow, lacustrine flats, .and is dominated by sedge hummocks. The kinds of surface waters suitable for marshes are those received directly from rain, or as a combination of rain and the essentially clean overflow from streams fed prevailingly by base flow or snow melt. Fens are wetland commtmities that occur in areas where the glacial formations are such that bicarbonate-rich, ground water dis- charges at a constant rate and tempemtuse along the slopes of kames, eskers, moraines, river bluffs, or even dunes, or in flats associated with these formations, provided the material through which the waters traveled is rich in carbonates. Depending on the circumstances, feus can occur where marl is at or near the surface or where peats are coustantly bathed in minerutrophic ground water. Such areas can be wooded or open. Marly fern are generally found on open prairie slopes, and commonly produce coustanfly flowing rills discharging over the surface. Related to these hillside fens are the wooded seeps that occur sporadically on steep bluffs. As fens become peatier, there is a tendency for cation exchange to damp off, causing ckctmmeutral or even acidic conditions, which can occur in the fiat, black-soil prairies and in certain morainic depressions. As the cation exchange capacity damps off further, bog conditions can begin to develop. Commonly~ the pentland floats on a minarotrophic head of water. The deeper roots are thus exposed to calcareous or circumneutral conditions, and the shallower roots are imbedded in the upper sphagnum mat, probably in a more acidic environment. In large basins or in areas where the influence of minarotrophic waters is insiffnificant, acid bogs can develop. Related to the acid bog, often in sand flats or basins, are floating sedge mats that rise and fall with the water table. Swamps are wetlands characterized by trees growing in large flats or basins that are poorly drained; most of the water leaves through evap0transpi~atiun. They can occur in the backwaters of large, slow-moving rivers, such as the Kaakakee, or in wet sandy fiats in the Kankakee Sand Section south of the Valparaiso Moraine. They can also occur on moraines in wet depressions. North of the Valparaiso Moraine, in the lake plain, they are best developed in the large flats behind the high dunes, where lies one of the richest and most complicated forested systems in our region. It is characterized by a complex hydrology and is interspersed by gentle rises, shallow depressions, and hummocks, and consists of an inseparable mixture of wooded fen, bog, and mosle forest. It is impoxfant to understand that thc clear line of demarcation (edge) we often search for and identify between upland and wetland habitats in contemporary landscapes is of far less importance in the natural landscape, where the wefiand/upland distinction is highly undifferentiated. Such concepts as wedand edge are more artifacts of a regulatory mandate than observable manifestations of the natural landscape. Regional Hydrology In natural areas, the primary recharge occurs in upland to mesic habitats, and discharge can occur anywhere along the spectrum from higher to lower gradients, depending on the relationship of geology, soils, surface and groundwater gradients, and other factors. Imagine the ecological attributes of a landscape mediated by a combination of flora, fauna, soils, and geology, such that groundwater was the dominant form of hydrology, as once occurred throughout most of Illinois and the upper Midwest. At the time of European settlement, thc Illinois River, draiuing more than one half of the land within the state 'of Illinois, was virtually still-flowing, with little percxfivable discharge into the Mississippi River. According to Barrows (1910), the average fall between Hennepin and Pekin, a distance of 55.8 miles, is 0.82 inches per mile. "The Illinois is a fiver of relatively insignificant volume. Its natural low-water discharge is but a small fraction of that of the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The nearly level channel and the small volume result hi a very sluggish fiver, which has been de- scribed as a stseam that more nearly resembles the Great Lakes thaia an ordinary river, and again as one that partakes more of the nature of an estuary than of a river." Consider these accounts of the now beleaguered Illinois River, once one of the most beautiful and biologically fecund rivers in North Amefica. The placid Illinois traverses this territory in a southwestern direction, nearly 400 miles . . . Unlike the other great fivers of the western country, its current is mild and unbroken by rapids, meandering at leisure through one of the finest countries in the world. ·. upwards of 400 yards wide at its mouth... The banks of the Illinois are generally high. The bed of the river being a white marble, or olay, or sand, the waters are remarkably clear. It abounds with beautiful islands, . . . It passes through one lake, two hundred mad ten miles from its mouth, which is twenty miles in length, and three or four miles in breadth, called Illinois Lake [Lake Peoria]. (Brown 1817). The Illinois fiver.., presents to the eye a smooth and sluggish current, bordered on each side by an exuberant growth of aquatic plants, which, in some places, reach nearly across the channel. We soon found the water tepid and unpalatable, and oftentimes filled with decomposed vegetation;.. There is perhaps no shem in America whose current offers so tittle resistance in the ascent... Both b~nk~ are bordered by a dense forest of cottonwood, sycamore, and other species common to the best western bottom-lands. Of the fertility of the soil, no person of the least observation can for a moment doubt... (Schoolcraft 1821). We have seen nothing like this river that we enter, as regards its fertility of soil, its prairies and woods; its cattle, elk, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beaver. There are many small lakes and rivers. That on which we sailed is wide, deep and sill1, for 65 leagues. In the spring and during part of the summer there is only one portage of haif a league." (Thwaltes 1900, from Jacques Mar- quette, around 1674). It is also significant that this portion of the continent, referred to by Transeau (1935) as the "Prairie Peninsula," lies within a phyfftographic region where the ratio of rainfall to potential ev~porafiun ranges from 0.6:1 to 1:1. In contrast, in regions where 'the ratios are greater than 1:1, the tendency is for mesophytic forest to develop. Therefore, when Barrows did his study hi 1910, of the approximately 37 inches of rainfall that fell annually across northeast and central Illinois, very little was discharged as surface runoff into the Illinois River. Instead, water either percolated into the aquifers, discharged slowly and evenly to seepage areas and fens or evapotranspired. Simple arith- metic tells us that a balanced system receiving a given amount of precipitation per year cannot continue indefinitely to evapotranspire the same amount and lose an additional amount to runoff without a considerable increase in dryness. Weaver and Noll (1935) documented the absorption capabilities of prairie ecosystems and their unique relatiomhip of water, vegetation, and soils, during thek grassland studies. According to . their findings, "The porosity of... moist grassland soil into which the water sinks is impressive. It accounts for the fact that on fully vegetated lands practically no erosion occurs exgept, possibly during storms of unusual violence, and even then erosion is seldom serious." In a study involving intemeptometers in Nebraska, they noted that eleven rainfall events over a year resulted in the loss of about 1% of the total rainfall from a prairie dominated by Andropogon scopaffus (little bluestem grass) and with a slope of five degree~. A wheat field under the same conditions lost more than seven timos that percentage of water volume, and a fallow field lost more than nine times that of the prairie, or 10.2% of the rain that fell. Such observations are further supported by an ongoing study at Iowa State University (Bhamfi 1996), where, based on eight sampling measurements, a five- year-old planting of Panicum virgatum (switch grass) exhibited the capacity to infiltrate, on average, more than 7.5 inches of rainfall per hour; an adjacent rowcrop on the same soil infiltrated 2 inches per hour. Water in the Contemporary Landscape If we wish to influence water infiltration positively, improve water quality, reduce flooding and restore wetland and aquatic habitats, the intricate surface and groundwater relationships of our natural hydrology must be understood and incorporated into planning and land use. It is essential that practitioners responsible for alt forms of land use- architects, landscape arcintects, engineers, plauners~ developers, contractors, agricultural producers, and government regulators--consider the natural hydrologic patterns not only of the site, but also of the surrounding area or watershed. consideration in nearly every development project, but traditionally, water is viewed either as a burden or as a purely utilitarian commodity. Professionals are trained to collect and convey surface waters quickly and effi- ciently from the site to areas remote from their purview, presumably to be dealt with by somebody else. They analyze, design, and construct storm drainage and detention/retentiun systems that attempt to confine site and regional impacts of surface water- generated storm ·flows. It is rare, however, for these evaluations to consider the natural hydrologic character of the area, or the hydrologic context in which the site and surrounding natural systems formed over geologic time: time measured not by decades or lifetimes, but by thousands of years of system their degradation. Research indicates that changes in water quality, water quantity, and physicochemisUy can significantly impact the function and sustainability of wetland systems. The USEPA publication Natural Wetlands . and Urban Stormwizter. Potential Impact~ and Management (1993), summarizes mseaxch findings describing stormwater impacts, to wetland habitats. According to this document, changes in vegetative eom- munity structure, productivity, water quality, and hydrology are inSeparable. Changes in vegetative community structure appear to be correlated with the time of year, water depth changes, and frequency and duration of inundation experienced in the wetland from excess stormwater discharge (Azons 1991; Cooke 1991; Stockdale 1991; USEPA. 1985). Changes in water quality (chemistry and sedimant loading) have the potential to affect the vegetative community structure and productivity, thereby reducing the availability of plant species preferred by fish, mammals, birds and arr/phibians for food and shelter (Lloyd-Evans 1989; Mitsch and Gosselink 1986; Wellur 1987). Wetland plant species are generally specific in their requirements for germination, and many are senSitive to flooding. Homer (1988) found that emergent zones of pahistrine wetlands receiving urban runoff in the Pacific Northwest were dominated by the opportunistic non-native, Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass), whereas unhnpacted wetland plant communities were composed of a more diverse group of native species. Ehrenfeld and Schneider (1990) discuss the relationShip between stormwater discharge and changes in plant community composition. They found a reduction in indiganoug wetland species and an increase in the colonization of exotic species due to changes in hydrology, v~ter quality, or both. Van der Valk (1991) noted that wet/and species may have limited ability to migrate in the face .of persistently raised' water levels; many species can spread only through vegetative methods under such conditionS. The result may be lowered plant diversity in the wetland-m-upland gradient. This is evident in many remnant wetland systems, where the lower gradient zones subjected to longer periods of surface water inundation have exlfibited more substantial degradation than the edges of the wetland. Studies have been conducted to evaluate hydro-period impacts on individual species. Stockdale (1991) found that Typha spp. (cattails) surfive well under fluctuating conditionS, and that Phalank arundinacea (reed canary grass) has a wide tolerance to water level fluctuations, though it does not survive long periods of inundation during the growing season. In contrast, Care~ spp. (sedges) are highly specific with regard to hydrologic preferences. According to Fredarickson (1982), modifying natural wetlands with impoundments may result in radically different hydrologic regimes that are not ecologically sound. The introduc- tion of stormwater runoff or water control objectives, causing hydrological disturbances in impounded wetlands, could result in the development of stressful habitat conditions. Changes in the pH of water associated with management practices or'the introduction of stornmmter also can have an effect on the biota in impounded systems. Most organisms are adapted to function within particu- lar pH ranges, and abrupt or substantial variations in pH can have adverse effects on aquatic life, usually in the form of reduced productivity and increased mortality (Newton 1989). Urban stormwater can vary significantly in pH, so the variable nature of stormwater inflow could result in abrupt changes in pH in an impoundment. Since only a few species can adapt to conditions of changing salinity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, low species richness could result (Devoe and Baughrnan 1986). Given the predisposition of most native species to either ombrotrophic or minerotrophic ~onditions (Swink and Wilhelm 1994), wetlands dominated by waters with fluctuating physicochemistry and volumes are depauperate in species richness. Another point to be considered is that the environment least capable of handling excess water is a wetland habitat that is akeady saturated. This is often the case jn detention and wetland mitigation projects that involve the excavation and creation of emergent and shallow water marshland habitats that rely primarily on surface water 'hydzology for sustenance. F_xcept perhaps for marshes filled pre- · jurisdictionally or illegally, the creation of such habitats is not au appropriate form of mitigation. A wide range of factors must be evaluated to determine the appropriate restoration or water management strategy for any specific project or site. The solution must be one that renders the hytdrologic condition mom stable, and reduces runoff waters to a level that fosters ecosystem stability. These findings, which are supported by many other studies, help to shape an understanding of the types of impacts and wetland degradation that axe occurring in varying degrees to nearly all the remnant or created Wetland systems throughout our region, particularly those that are most directly exposed to rural or urban stormwater runoff. Changes in surrounding land use and vegetative cover have altered the natural hydrology of our wetlands from habitats formed and sustained almost completely by groundwater discharge and direct precipitation, to wetland systems almost totally dominated by surface water hydrology. As a result of these changes, increased runoff exposes surrounding wetland systems to periodic, repeated inundation. With accelerated erosion, surface water flows carry sediments that are then deposited within the wetland, altering the chemistry, nutrient cycling, root zone, germination conditions, and other critical growth factors. The combimation of excess ponded water and sedimentation result in the obfiteretion of the more conservative native wetland species, those plants with· strict physiological paxameters that constitute complex systems. The high diversity of species that favor isothermic, groundwater-fed alkaline conditionS and a very specific hydrological regime yield to a few weeds such as Phalaris arundinacea (reed Canary grass), Typha spp. (cattails), Phragrnites australi~ (common reed), Ly~hrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), and a handful of other species. This default weed flora is tolerant of direct surface water inundation, rapid fluctuations in water levels, poor water quality, and sedimantatiom The tremendous biodiversity, system stability, and biological function of our region's natural wetland habRats are lost. The "Outdoor Rug" Phenomenon A trademark of nearly every cultural landscape across the country is the turf grass lawn. The aesthetic dictated by the lawn implies a landscape that requires regular watering, yet can never be wet, that must at once be short, yet lives on fertilizer. The landscape is essantial~y designed to divest itself of water and resources, the two input components jt needs most. This is the legacy of a cultural attempt t6 create a water-loving landscape that cannot abide water. To achieve tiffs design, the topsoil is typically removed, the underlying clay is compacted and a thin layer of topsoil and sod .is rolled out over it. Such sod commonly couslsts of Kentucky blue grass, Poa £ratensis, which is not native to Kentucky or even the Americas. In the typical context, the root system is but a few inches deep, and the whole · layer represents little more than a drug- . dependent ~ug" with an exaggerated floor pad. Because water cannot penetrate the clay floor and the shallow root system will die if it sits in water, the "floor" is tilted at no less than a 2% slope, often a requimmant in local ordinances. . More expensive or elaborate designs will include bumps or burros placed artistically tbxoughout the landscape, and storm drains situated cleverly so that water drains quickly from the site, discharging into detention basins at all deliberate speed. Current fashion makes it important to maintain the height of the Kentucky blue grass as low as is physiologically possible and still have something that looks like a green rug. This requires virtually constant mowing, lest grass bhdes hem or there get taller than others. Mowing, of itself, might be relatively harmless if it did not use fossil fuel in uuremediated internal combustion engines. For every gallon of gas burned, about 15 pounds of various oxides (mostly carbon dioxide, and other worse things), which the ecosystem of the earth has not seen since the Paleozoic (200 million years ago), are produced and g'rcen over to our atmosphere. Since it is culturally important to grow Kentucky blue grass short, it must be fertilized regularly, which makes it grow fast, so that it must be mowed often. Inasmuch ns no other living things are allowed in the lawn, the fall aesthetic requires the application of as much broad-leaf herbicide and pesticide as the landscape maintenance budget wilt permit. When it rains, water quickly saturates the rug, inducing rtmoff that begins its course down the slope, carry- ing with it herbicides, extra fertilizer, and anything else added to the lawn. To control the flow into local streams, engineers and designers of such landscapes have fashioned huge holes in the ground placed tactically to receive such waters and any toxicants, pollutants, or unused nutrientS. There the water sitS, its volume and any dissolved or suspended components to be metered into the nearest stream. Water from such landscapes throughout the watershed accumulates in massive storm surges, filling the rivers with filthy water, eventually passing it along the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. This regular movement of huge volumes of dirty water into the estuarine regions of the Mississippi Rives delta is' contributing to a catastrophic defiline in the productivity of the spawning grounds of the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, having sent our rainwater downstream, we no longer have the water to recharge our landscapes. S'race water continues to evaporate and transpire, our landscapes are soon dry and sear, oRen within hours of the last rain. The solution, inevitably, has been to install expe. nsive irrigation networks to mine water from deep within the ground, a supply that is the largess of a landscape far away that still infiltrates and stores water in net This contrived 'living" rug phenomenon has lead to a curious infrsshmctural aesthetic: few other living things are acceptable on the rug. Only cumin shrubs, planted in artistic groupings of 5s and 7s, and even-sized, lollipop- shaped trees planted in rows are allowed. Expensive plantings include huge clumps of mulch placed .in small rings at the bases of the trees and shrubs. Trees growing in clay holes on bumps commonly do not live long, partly because the holes have either too much or too little water in them. In order to forestall the mortality of ill- fated trees planted out of place, a new industry has developed to provide nnderdrainaga for the clay holes. The relevant point here is that such trees and shrubs are not really alive in the sense that they are members of a community and participate in the annual replication and stability of that community. Other than mowing, fertilizing, and pesticiding, the only human involvement in such a landscape consists of workers who replace dead trees; Such landscapes are largely devoid of other living things as well, save; perhaps, gaggles of' sedentary urban geese that have lost the capacity to imgsata, . . . but not the capacity for other bodiqy functions. Considering the sterility and lifelessness of our contemporary landscapes, one could get the impression that our culture regards the outdoors as little more than living rooms to be designed only with attention to the vagaries and vicissitudes of the design aesthetic of its day. The people of the culture no longer can see that there really is such a thing as an outdoors, or that it matters. Nevertheless, water remains a real thing, a noncompressible item that flows downhill. The more of it there is, the greater the volume; the gseater, the volume, the greater the potential flow energy. The greater the energy, the more resources it can carry with it. Water is one of the few resources that winds up on the top of the hill f~ee, as a result of evaporation and condensation, rain, dew, or snow. Other resources, such as nutrients and soil, are less easily restored to the top of the hill. For them; the energy required is not sunlight energy, which mediates water restoration, but some other energy source, and, on the scale of the human lifetime, usually one that involves money and labor. Water flowing downhill and carrying re- sources with it leaves the top of the hill bereft of resources, and render the bottom of the hill surfeited with them. 6 The same force that brings water free to the top of the hill enforces evaporation potentials such that, in the Chicago area, about one million gallons of water are evaporated frora each acre per year, which.is appro 'x~mately the amount that falls annually. The first principle of our contemporary culture seem~ to be: get as much water out of sight as fast as possible. Depending on local ordinances, the rate of disposal can vary, but all of it must leave. Just how the downstream neighbors handle it is theirproblem. It is not sufficient, once the liabilities associated with the contemporary aesthetic are understood, simply to stop all the mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pesticiding, and "let nature take its course." This contemporary landscape has nowhere near the stability or biodiversity to coalesce into a self-sustaining, self-replicating ecosystem. If current human involvement were simply to disappear, the landscape would not "succeed" into some pre-Columbian Eden. Rather, if the Kentuck7 blue grass went uumowed, a few other weeds like bull thistle and dandelion would flourish along with the grass for a few years, eventually giving way to weedy shrubs and trees, such as buckthoru, box elder, Amur honeysuckle, and black locust. Over time, the few ground cover weeds would be shaded out, soil would erode, and the roots of the trees and shrubs would become exposed and begin to topple. There would be few butterflies, birds, or anything else, other than perhaps some roving gangs of starlings feeding on box elder bugs. All the while, water, soil, and other resources will run downhill, polluting the rivers. It should be noted that the authors are not opposed to the use of turf grass lawns. There are many useful applications for md grass. We are opposed, however, to the contemporary mores that demand we default the entire outdoor landscape to tuff grass, particularly when other landscape treat- ments are available that are far more ecologically and ecot/omically seusible.~ What would be so wrong, so unattractive, so heretical to look out upon, indeed, walk within, a landscape inhabited by a profusion of native grasses and sedges, replete with comely perennials and colorful butt0dlie~ infused with flowering shrubs, and domlmtted here and there by groves of . trees--trees with futures? Would it be so radical to propose that trees be free to grow branches in whatever manner the habitat permits, and to grow broad, expansive, root systems with a diversely populated rhizosphere rich in water and mycorrhizal fungi? Would we be so unable, to countenance clean streams and rivers that flourish with fish 'and mussels and abound with birds? The A~rieultural Dilemma Water in nearby agricultural lands is disposed of just as foolishly. Prairie lands, with their deep roots and water holding root systems, once stored net amounts of fixed carbon each year in the creation of deep black soils. Very little water ran off the surface of the land. Most of the water either transpired through the living tissues of hundreds of different species of plants or seeped at a constant rate into the groundwater, only to discharge finally in fens and springs far from where it fell. The richness and fertility of Midwegtesn soils owes its properties to the hydrolog~ of the grasslands, where subterranean reduction exceeded oxidation. Weaver and NoR (1935) described the erosive effects of tillage on prairie soils. ·.. on bared or sparsely vegetated slopes both run-qff and erosion may occur after relatively light showers. It soon becomes clear thaf the most important factor tending to decrease erosion in non-tilled lauds is the maintenance of a plant cover. The quantities of water lost during torrential rains, even from small areas are impressive and naturally lead to calculations of the amounts running off from whole hillsides, the total mount of soil removed, the effects of this run-off in forming gullies and ditches, and of the sediment finally silting up the fertile lowlands. The water is lost to ground storage; the deepening of gullies and ditches lowers the water table, wtdch results in a constant tendency of the water in the upper layers to sink to lower levels. The habitat is gradually changed. The hard, compact, poor absorbing surface left after severe erosion is always impressive. That the water holding capacity is reduced is not diffictilt to understand.., erosion can be held largely accountable for disastrous floods, on the one hand, and drought on the other. This is hardly a new phenomenon. Amos Sawyer (1874) noted that: During the last twenty years our cli- mate [in Illinois] has been slowly but surely changing from wet to dry .... But the most important agent [of this change]--one that is yet to produce greater mischief--seems to have escaped [our] attention: it is the aqueous. The chemical and mechanical effects of this agency are constantly at work, and the result is plainly visible in the deepening of the channel of all our small streams. [Itl is hard at work night and day, summer and winter, overcoming every obstacle placed by nature or man to impede its progress. The work marked out for it to do is no less than the complete drainage of the ponds and lakes of our prairies: and so surely as the world stands, so surely will .the task be accomplished ..... Every little streamlet has its miniature Niagara Fails: but,. unlike their giant refation, they are making visible progress every year, and are consequently (strange as the language may seem) more iustmc- tire: The 'hard-pan,' which only yields after repeated blows from the sturdy laborer's pick, and grinds off its steel at the rate of two inches per day, crumbles and gives way under the combined agency of frost and water: the largest trees in the forest yield to the conquering element .... Every little streamlet is bringing its bed down to a level with its parent stream, and the merry rippling of their little cas- cades greets the ear on every side, and tells you in hnguage not to be misunderstood that they wilt in time accomplish the work allotted them to perform--the thorough drainage of the land through which they pass. Illinois's topsoil, once fertile beyond imagination, now chokes the last of lifo from the Illinois River. Demissie and Bhowmik (1987) note that the average depth of Lake Peoria in 1903 was 8.0 feet, but by 1985 it was no more than 2.6 feet deep. The huge fisbery along the Illinois, which, in 1908, at its peak y/elded 24 million pounds of fish, by 1964 yielded only 1.5 ralllion pounds (Emge et al. 1974). The mussel-fishing industry, once huge, no longer exists. The reasons for this decline are .many and complex, and Illinois biologists have been writing about the effects of man 'on the Illinois River for many years (Bel[rose et al. 1979; Mills, Starrett and Bellsose 1966; Starratt 1972). For the first half of this century, the Peoria lake filled at a rate of about 0.05 foot per year, which was too fast to sustain a diversity of life forms. From 1965 to 1975 it was filling at a rate of 0.~ foot per year, and from 1975 to 1985 the Lake Peoria section of the Illinois River was gagging on 0.12 foot per year. The Heartland Water Resources Council estimates that by the year 2040, Lake Peoria will have vanished as a water body, leaving little more than a narrow and muddy navigation chmmal. Mike Platt, executive director of the council, sees a grim future, the lake having "mroed into willow thickets and mudflats by 2016, swarming with mosquitoes, with only a narrow, muddy barge channel open for boating. Mar/nas will have become ghost towns. Waterfowl will have fled and fish will have declined. Property values will have phwnmeted. What will properties along the river be worth when (people) look out over willow thickets and mudfiats?" (Peoria Journal Star, August 7, 1996). Soil erosion and hydrologic alterations to the landscape associated with conventional tillage practices U'igger other dettimental side effects. A recent SCS study (1990) concluded that, of the original average 18 inches of topsoil across the state of Iowa at the time of settlement, 10 have been lost to wind and water'erosinn, and that, of the remaining 8, half the tilth (related to soil organic carbon) is gone. When soil loses tilth, it loses its organic matter, and therefore its ability to absorb water. The corolla~ to lost w~ter absorption is increased erosion, and thexefora exaggerated divestment of erodible resources, which then accumulate in somebody else's back yard in amounts too great to be useful, if not actually destructive. The long-term conse- quences on both the local and broader economy are frightening. As the water in the soil is drained away, the reduction/oxidation relationships change dramatically. Whereas once the prairies held their water, and carbon was fixed beneath the surface in net amounts, annual row crop tillage now causes carbon to be oxidized more rapidly than it is fixed, a situation exacerbated by the constant drain of water through the file systems and into the ditches. Consequanfly, during each growing season, carbon dioxide that was fixed milleina ago is now released into the atmosphere in amounts greateI than it is taken up, potentially contributing to the problem known as global warming. This net release of soil organic carbon (SOC)/s not a minor concern. Recent studies on the amounts of carbon stored in the Conservation Reserve ]Program (CRP), in which deep-rooted native grasses are planted in some of the less productive or more erodibte soils, have shown that nearly ten years of SOC storage can be oxidized within a single growing season after tilling. These amounts can be impressive, since land in CRP, over a broad geographic area, can gain an average of 0.5 tons of organic cathordacrePfe~r (Gchhart et al. 1994). Water is even overlooked as a factor in the interpretation of natural areas. In a polemic on the management of remnant natural woodlands in Illinois, Wilhelm (1991) points to the hydrologic changes occurring deep within the shade of Midwestern woodland areas. Much of the change can be attributed to the cessation of annual fke, which was practiced by the native people for millennia before European settlement. Already . . . where shade has become the most extreme and herbaceous ground-layer the thinnest, the forest floor is open to sheet erosion. It is evident that the increasingly spocies-poor community of the [woods] no longer can hold water or soil. Recent and dramatic increases in the number, depth, and width of erosional ditches, though not yet quhnfifled, are obvious to those who have been watching. It is yet to be determined just how much water is running off the slopes, but indirect evidence suggests that it is a significant percentage of the annual precipitation... Because summer and fall vegetation on the forest floor of the [v~otds] is sparse, much annual precipitation sheet-flows toward ever deeper ero- sional ditches and carries with it soil, native plant seeds, and diaspores. Tree buttresses are wholly exposed and some have been undercut by loss of soil. Many small maples are undercut and propped on their roots. 5 cm or so of soil having washed away since their germination 10-15 years ago.. · Although woody mesophyms are the prevailing species at this time, simple arithmetic tells us that no balanced system recerving a given amount of ram per year can continue indefinitely to evapotrauspire the same amount and lose an additional amount ro runoff. Indeed, as the water table lowers these mesophytes will be less and less able to draw upon the deep ground water accumulated in the presettlement [period]. Droughts and episodic rainfall events inevitably will begin to take their toll on a system that has become overstocked with phraatophytes [water-loving plants] and no longer has sufficient means for holding precipitation. The cumulative negative effects of such natural system collapses are now felt throughout the streams and rivers of the prairie province, ultimately to degrade and diminish estuaries of the Mississippi River delta' te- gion, spawning ground for many fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Hydrological impacts associated with shortsighted land rganagement practices are not limited to the Midwest. Note the following citation: The trees are large and noble in aspect and stand widely apart except in the highest parts of the plateau where the spruces predominate. Instead of dense thickets where we are shut in by im- penetrable foliage, we can look hr beyond and see the tree trunks vanishing away like an infinite colonnade. The ground is unobstructed and inviting. There is a constant succession of parks and glades--dreamy avenues of grass and flowers winding between sylvan walls, or spreading out in broad open meadows. From June until September there is a display of wildflowers which is quite beyond description. The. valley sides and phtforms above are resplendent with dense masses of scarlet, white, purple, and yellow. It is noteworthy that while the trees exhibit but few species the humbler plants present a very great number both of species and ganer~t. 2. Dutton (1887) wrote this in his physical geology report on the Grand Canyon district in Arizona. Since ·then, overgrazing and fire suppression have so depleted the Colorado River watershed of its capacity to absorb water that the dramatic topography is able to · conduct massive amounts of precipitation rapidly to this once beautiful canyor~ The immense flow energies and scottring capacity of the water have rendered the canyon little more than a deep and wondrous land- scape, bereft of the verdure described by Dutton. The uplands, once blessed with the deep root systems of bunch grasses and many flowers, are now heavily eroded and largely defaulted to compacted soils, shallow-rooted Asian brome grasses, and sage-brosbes. Consider the plight of the western valleys and bays. Currently, stands of pine, inn/per, or oak, undisciplined by regular controlled burns, according to the custom of the native peoples, become ever more dense, and their leaves accumulate for years beneath them, unable to decompose as fast as they fall in the da5, climate. The leaves shade away the ground cover vegetation, and therefore reduce the slopes' capacity to hold water. Finally, when the winds are 'high and the humidifies are low, the inevitable uncontrolled fire starts, with catastroplfm results. The heat produced is tremendous--many trees are killed, the ground is laid bare, and life and property are lost. When the rains come, waters flow freely over the erosive, exposed soils, and fill the streams with brown, scouring, roiling waters that immediately debauch into the bays, befouling them as well.' Soaked slopes without a stabilizing root architecture slip away, carrying evesy- th/ng upon them, including houses and roads. Imagine the coastal ranges and the Sierras of the western states, currently so bedeviled by catastrophic wildfires, mud slides, and water shortages, again replete with healthy pines, flower-rich slopes and chapparals, and streams again filled with base flow waters. Today, people fear the fires and resent the mud slides, complain of water shortages, and dec-w the pollution of the bays, as if there were nothing that could be done about it. Attentiveness to the fire practices of the native people, the natural hydrology, and the local ecology could be incorporated generally into all manner of landscape designs to render a land rich in flowers, safe from uncontrolled fires, unsusceptible to mud slides, and nurturing to the major rivers and bays. As the awareness and correlative ethics of the people grew, so also would the health and safety of the land. The Nature of Landscape Evolution Impacts to historic biological systems, as a result of processes associated with European settlement, have occawred with a magnimda and'raPidity without precedent in the history of the continent's biota. In plant commtmi~ ties, for example, there is a striking difference between areas inhabited by a full component of locally native species and those inhabited predominantly by weeds. The conservative systems contain native biodiversity that is suited to the processes, and they will exhibit long-term stability. Weed communities, by comparison, are adapted either to catastrophic disturbance or the kinds of activities assoc'mted with traditional cultural landscapes. These weed communities contain neither the biediversity nor the aggregate adaptive ability to coalesce into serf-replicating, sustainable systems. In our contemporary, fragmented land- scapes, the conservative elements of our native systems, supplanted in place, have neither refuge, effective migration routes, nor the time to adapt or move. Rather, their populations are decimated time and time again until their local extirpation or ultimate extinction occurs. The destiny of many systems dominated by weeds is further destabilization, during which resources s~ch as water, soil, and nutrients are often lost at rates faster than they are replaced. (Swink and Wilhelm 1994) Restoring a Cultural Relationship with the Land and Water What do we mean when we say we want to restore the landscape, or restore the health of the earth? What is it that needs to be restored? How do we know when the land is healthy? Such questions can be hard to answer for a people who have become so distant and removed from the idea that their relationship with the earth is integral both to the long-term perpetuation of their culture and the renewability of the earth's living surface. One way of approaching the answers to these questions in human societies, for example, is to regard a culture healthy so long as it continues to renew itself with each new generation of individuals and families. The health of a cul~u'e is dependent upon the behavior of the individuals within it. Each individual is born with a unique combination of genes that the culture has never experienced before, and is born.into a time and circumstance that has never been before or will be again. Individuals are reared in the ways of their people by the family within the culture, and draw strength and experience from the knowledge and wisdom of their elders. With an eye toward tomorrow, these elders have tested the knowledge and wisdom of their forebears, made scarcely detectable modifications in response to their own experience with their people and their land, and passed it along to young ones. In this way, the health of the culture is assured, as the people, utterly respectful of the experi- ence of the past, respond to the subtle vicissitudes of an ever changing earth, so that their culture might perpetuate itself and replicate the full potential of human experience with each passing 9 Take the metaphor of the Ttirtle Mother, as propagated by many of the native peoples of .eastern North America. The elder tells the story, a esre-wom hand touching the shoulder of the young one. "The earth is on the back of the turtle. So goes the tuffie, gees to earth." The young one can see that if he befouls the waters wherein the turtle lives, so also he befouls his 'own world. If the turtle dies, so also the people die. The circle of life is broken, and the earth falls off the back of the turtle. So it is with the ecosystems of the earth with which human cultures interact. The warp and weft of life and human culture on any remnant acre of the earth is unique to the earth. No other complex of genetic expressions has such an experience of the singular geological, historical, and climatic definition of a place as do the organisms that have long residency in it. With each passing season there is a propagation of young with genes that are at once nearly identical to those of their parents, yet man/testing combinations of genes that have never been before. With the inboin "experience" of long-time residency i~ their habitat, the next generation is at the same time equipped to accommodate subtle shifts in climate and the gradual changes brought on by mountains and seas rising and falling. This coevolution of life forms with the geological and meteorological transformations of the earth occurs at a time scale that is inextricably linked with the regular cycles of the earth around the sun, and the time periods necessary for individuals of populations both to transmit the experience of the place to subsequent generations and yet to allow small genetic changes to satisfy subtly new conditions. Rates of change in human cultures and ecosystems are buffered against catastrophic collapse by an internal diversity that works to protect the whole against the development of exaggerated, untested individual behaviors or genetic malformations. Without such protections, rapid, system-wide changes can cripple the system's ability to renew itself and conserve its local knowledge of the place. The health of an ecosystem or a culture degrades in accordance with the degree to which it destabilizes or simplifies itself, and there comes a time when there is not enough diversity within the system, with either enough memory of the past or enough potential for the future, to continue. The evolution of a system so compromised ceases. Establishing a sustainable relationship with the livin~ earth requires the reintroduction of a capacity for change. Water out o/[ place is a primary agent in both cultural and ecological instability; therefore, our relationship with water is related to our ability to sustain a culture and the culture's ability to sustain the living fabric of the earth. The Challenge to Ourselves We believe that snstainability is an overarching principle for all land use. To support the hydrologic cycle, ecosystem stability, and other critical natural processes, it is necessary to consider local, regional, or even global issues on land use of all sizes. In contrast to'a sustainable approach, much of our contemporary infrastructure and conventional planning methodologies are products of a contrived ~fisual aesthetic with little understanding, relationship, or ground- ing in the unique realties of place. Such methodologies represent a cultural indifference to the function of natural systems, or even the energy required to maintain this infrastructure, much less any long-term consequences. This is especially h-ac with respect to the dynamics of water. Site planning and development, as a whole, must evaluate local natural systems and integrate their essential aspects into problem solving techniques, such that design is based on historical patterns of terrain, water, and climate. A primary obstacle facing sustainable planning and design is that no one profession has the depth of training and slcill~ necessary to do it alone. Sustainability requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Traditional academic degrees and professional traiding lead us to believe we have earned the competence to solve very specific types of problems. As David Orr (1995) points out: "The ideal of a broadly informed, renaissance mind has given way to the far smaller idea of the academic specialist." To overcome this impediment, the challenge to planning and design professionals is to synthesize a broad spectrum of expertise. The leaders of future sustainable development mus)~ be able to facilitate a dialogue between environmental scientists, landscape architects, engineers, builders, planners, architects, local, state and national decision makers, and a public that expects quality of life to be supported by its environment. It is encouraging to see that the seeds of sustainable planning, design, and development are emerging from a variety of disciplines. If we are to shift toward sustainability successfully, we must first address several basic shortcomings that are pervasive in the planning and design professions, including landscape architecture. Design professionals must learn to recognize the drawbacks associated with continued reliance on. the standard default, an unwieldy combination of visual aesthetics. "If it comes down to a decision between good design and the environment, I'I1 al- ways opt for geod design." Thus pro- claimed a design practitioner in one of the professional design journals several years ago. This is a curious, disturbing statement, but unfortunately, it is a sentiment too commonly expressed among contemporary design professionals. How do the criteria for "good design" differ from those for "the environment"? What is the controlling factor in aircraft design-performance and safety, or just aesthetics? Is not the performance of the land on which we live and depend just ns important as the performance of a transportation vehicle? A safe, high- performance airplane is inherently attractive. So also would be a building and landscape well integrated into the Sustainable design is more than artwork, and moxe than a painting or a piece of sculpture. It is the achievement of artistic goals within the parameters set by the chain of an unfolding past and future. Every form of development on the land, no matter how small, requires 10 an understanding of the relationship between land use and its impact on water and other resources. The implica- fious of this undemtanding must be disciplined by a cultural ethic that mandates a response that accommodates ecological and cultural stability. Fellow humans have voices, and are subject to whims and temporal urges. They have faces and money. Too ofteh it is easy to be seduced into believing that the exigencies of the day are paramount. Few people see the faces of plants and animals. Plants and animals have no money. Yet, attentiveness to the exigencies of their surfival is profoundly informative in regard to the requisite relationship we must develop with the living earth. BuilcFmg a sustainable relationship with the living earth requires that om: actions be grounded in environmental realities. In a cultare-drivan society, this requires an ethic. Since the beginning of the Holocene, and perhaps for much of the Quaternary, an important component in the shaping of the landscape has been msnkind. Human beings are governed not only by random interactions within the ecosystem, but by choice, Fundamental interactions such es predation, competition, and foraging are complicated by the fact that humans can decide how to act, often with no immediate ecological parameter cOming to bear on this decision, other than a human et[de. According to Leopold (1966), Alt ethics so far evolved rest upon a single promise: that the individual is a member of a commtmity of individual parts. His instincts prompt him to compete for his place in the community, but hi~ ethics prompt him also to cooperate. The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include s(/fls, water, plants and animals, or collectively: the land. We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love and otherwise have faith in. A land etldc, then reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual respeusibility for the health of the land. The design of environments where humans and other organisms interact, where actious create reactions, where the future is built on an understanding and appreciation of the past, requires that good design and the environment be synonymous. Regardless of scale, th~ design of sustainable environments means fac'nitafing human purposes in concert with natural processes. Once we understand the realities of' place, there are infinite opportunities for creative expression; true design freedom is possible only within these limits. Since every place is unique, every design will require new creativity, innovation, and techaology. A new aesthetic, enqompassing every aspect of infrastructure, will emerge as we become more successful at designing whole systems. This reqni~es a design process based on the intereounectiun of natural systems, and an increased undemta~ding of the relationship between an individual site, the surrounding region, and beyond. The products of such design will be both visually interesting and sustainable if they integrate basic physical and behavioral factors into the solution. (Patehett and Wilhelm 1995) As our awareness of the reality of sustainabillty expands, the attributes of environmentally grounded design will be simply and clearly expressed, without hindrance to a formal and purely aesthetic design paradigm. As Orr (1995) contends, "When human artifacts and systems are well designed, they are in harmony with the ecological patterns in which they are embedded. When poorly designed, they undermine those larger patterns, creating pollution, higher costs, and social stress." In our opinion, if sustainabllity is to be · achieved, it will require a collaboration of philosophy, science, ethics, and creativity, Water management is a key touchstone of sustainabllity. There is no other resource or form of energy, with the ability both to sustain or destroy, more powerful than water. We were dismayed, although not surprised, to hear the conclusions of a recent report presented to the president of the United States by a so-called "flood expert," proclaiming that floods are a natural phenomenon, and that nothing can be done about them; that we can only plan ahead to save lives. To the contrary, floods, as we know them today, are not a "natural" phenomenon. In presettlement landscapes in the Midwest, the only substantial form of flooding generally occurred during the spring snow melt, when grounds were still frozen and incapable of absorbing the meltwater. It tended to create expansive, placid, still-flowing pools, quite a different form of hydrology from the snow melt dynamic in today's urban, suburban, and rural landscape, the volumes and characteristics much altered by numerous hydrologic grid hydraulic modifications hi the land. Until our people can comprehend that the devastatfug, floods of 1993 in the Mississippi River valley were not caused by an unusual and excessive amount of rainfall, but rather, by an unusual and excessive amount of rain falling on a landscape sorely needing water, but stripped of its capacity to absorb it, both droughts and floods will continue to become more frequent and catastrophic. A principal cause of many of our water problems is directly related to the self- deception built into land Bse policies of all kinds. Many policies consist of agendas that are charactetized by unrelated values and narrowly focused priorities. For example, local stormwater management ordinances routinely focus on water quantity issues, because many voters live in flood-prone areas. Such ordinances reflect little understanding of water quality or the implications of how water is dispersed throughout the landscape, because few voters are aware of the ecology of water so long as it is not in their basement or inundating their roads. Decisions made in such contexts may appear to be economically sound because they are supported in part by a series of federal, state, and local programs, but the long-term economic and ecological consequences of such actions are rarely recognized. A redi- rection in these programs that integrates sustainable economic and environmental objectives will give decision makers better choices and 11 solutions. Another bari'let to sound policy is a lack of knowledge within thc citizcmy and their elected representatives regarding their environment and sustainable economic alternatives (DuPage County Environment/l Commission 1993). No one factor will guide future sustainable laud use and site development more than education. Making informed decisions is paramount to preserving the quality and quantity of the earth's resources. A primary goal of sustainable design in building and site development should be, wherever possible, to retain water where it falls, treating the water as a resource, not discharging it as a waste product. This win require new design innovations throughout the urban and rural environment in the form of buildings that detain and use water, redesigued site drainage systems that replicate surrounding natuxal hydrological patterns, and the integration of landscape systems with agricultural crops that have spec'rile water holding capabilities and are uniquely adapted to the regiom Many of these ideas, in various forms, have already or are currently being introduced in a wide range of areas around the globe. Since pre(tpitation is universal, our relationship with water must be developed everywhere. Every form of land use, whether urban, suburban, rural, or otherwise, must be based upon a clear understanding of the relationships of water within the physical characteristics unique to each place. Whatever the context of human inhabitancy or nature's hydrology, the manor in which water is incorporated into the design, development, and management of the land should be such that water does not act as a depleter of resources. It is our proposition that a sustained economy and culture axe most assured if priority is given to developing new paradigms that incorporate water into our lives in ways that sustain life and nurture our precious resources. Today, we divest ourselves of natural re- sources and sterilize our imaginations in ' regard to creating economic growth, jobs, and prosperity. Envision, instead, a new economy, defined by the extenf to which We reinvest in natural resources, as industrial, urban, residential, and agricultural North America is redesigned and rebuilt sustainably. Children who now are born into a world feeling that them is no hope for a sustained future can be enlisted into a cultural recovery program based on reality and a .sense of tomorrow. Whatever their particular bent or special gift, their youthful energies, and natural openness toward tomorrow can be deployed within a new cultural ettfic, one that engenders hope and a sense of self-worth-a world in which elders pass along wisdom, as well as knowledge. Literature Cited Azous, A. 1991. An analysis of urbanization effects on wetland biological comities. Master's Thesis, University of Washington. Pablished by the Puget Sound Wetlands a~d Tenessee [sic] and Mississippi. H.C. Long-term irapaets of river besth Aplil 1993. Illinois Waterway I2-foot channel navigation project. U.S.A.E. Waterways Expcn/ment Station, Vicksburg, Mi~slssippi. Elxrenfeld, J. 13. and J. P. Schneider. 1990. The response of Atlantic white cedar wetlands to vat,ting levels of disturbance from suburban development in the New Jersey pthelands. In Wetland ecology and management: Case studies, ed. D. F. Whigham, IL E. Good, and J. Kvet. Pp. 63-78. Dorchncht, Nedierlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Fredefickson, L. H. 1982. Managed wetland habitats f~r wildlife: Why are they impm-tant? In Water impoundments far wildlife: A habitat rmmagaraent workshop. Sep.l-2, pp. 9-14. North Central Forest Nxperiment Station, Minnesota. Oebhnrt, D. L., H. B. Johnson, I-L S. Mayeux, and H. W. Policy. 1994. The CKP increases soil organic carboa. Jour. Soil and Water Cons. 49:488--492 Homer, tL P,. 1988. Long term effects ofuthan stormwater on wetlands. Ia Proceedings of au Engineering Foundation Corffe~mce on Current Praelice and Design Criteria for Urban Quality Control, Jul. 10-15. Potosi, Missouri, pp. 452-465. American Society of Civil Eng/neers. Leopold, A. 1966. A'Sa~d County almanac. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. Lloyd-Evans, T.L. 1989. Use of wetland for stormwater detention effects on wildlife habitat. Mahomet Ethtl Obsenmto~. bi Azous, I991. MJlls, H. B., W. C. Statrett, and F. C. Bellrose. 1966. Man's effect on the fish and w/ldlife of the lllino/s Rive~. Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv. Biol. Notes 57. Mitseh, W.J. and L G. Gossdllnk. 1986. Wetlands. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.,New York. Newton, P,. B. 1989. The effects of stonravater surface nmoff on freshwater wetlands: A review of the literatore and annotated bibliography. Prepared for the Massachusetts Department of Envirommental Protecticm, Office of Research and 8~andards, by the Environmental Lnstitate, Univ. Of MassaehnseRs at Amherst. Orr, D. 1995. Educating for the environment.' Change, May/June Patehett, J. M. and G. Wilhelm. Desigaing sustainable systems: Second interaal/onal Green Buildhag Conferenc9 and E~posilion--' 1995. A. H. Fanney, IC M. Wbitter, and T. B. Cohn, eds. NIST Special Pu!olicatlon 888. Prlor,.J.C. 1991. Laudthrms of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Richnrdson, J. L. , L. P. Wildlng, and R. B. Daniels. I992. Recharge and discharge of groundwater bi the aquic conditions illustcatad with flownet analysis. Geoderma 53:65-78. Sawyer, A. 1874. On el/malic change in nlinois-its cause. 'rms. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 3:255-260. Schoolcraft, H. R. 1821. A jouamey up the Illi- nois River in 1821. In pictures of Illinois One Hundred Years Ago. Milo Milton Qualfe, ed. Cbieago, The Lakeside Press. 1817. Stenett, W. C. 1972. Ma~ and the Illinois River, in River ~Eeolo~v and Mare R. T. Oglesby, C. A. Carlson, and J. T. Mc. Canu, eds. New York: Academic Press. 12 Stockdal¢, E.C. 1991. Freshwater wetiandso urban stormwater, and nor~oint source polin- tion induced by/mpoundment ~d draining. Biological Conservation 33:269-279. S'~ink, F. A. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago region. 4th ed. Indianepol~s: Indiana Acad. Sd. Thwaitas, R. G. 1900. Travels and explorations of the Jesuit missiona~es in New France I610 to 1791. Translations and notes from the original French, Latin, aud Italian texts. Volume 59. Cleveland, Ohio. Tr~seau, E.N. 1935. The prairie p~nins~a: Ecology 16:423-437. U.S.E.P.A. 1985. Freshwater wetlands for wastewater management environmental as- sessment handbook. U.S.E.P.A., Region IV, Atlanta, GA. EPA 904/9-85-135. U.$.E.P.A. 1993. Natm'at wetlands and urban storrmvate~, potentiat impacts and manage* merit. 843-r-001, February. vau der Valk, A. G. 1991. Response of wetland vegetation to a change in water level. In Wetland managex~as and restoratio~ ed. C. M. Finlayson and T. Larasom 3992.Swedish Environmental Frotaction Agency, rep. Weaver, J. E. and W. Noll. 1935. Measurement of run-off and soil e~osinn by a single investigator. Enoingy 16-1-12. Weller, M.W. 1987. The influence of hydrologi~ maxima and nfiatma ~m wildlife habitat and production values of wetlands. In Weflmfl hydrology, ed. J. A. Jusler and G. Brooks. Association of State Wetland Managers, Chicago, Illinois. Teclmieal Rep. 6. CitedinAzous, 1991. Willmlm, G. 1991. Implications of changes in floristic composition of the Morton Athore- tom*s East Woods. Froc. Oak Woods Management Workshop, Charleston, Illinois. About the Authors James Patchett is founder and President of Conservation Design Fotura, Inc. a multi- disciplinary consulting firra dadicafed to the principles of sustainable land planning, design, development, end long-term sys- tems management. The firm also specializes in natural features Inventories and assessments, ecelogieal restoration and realamatiun design, watershed and regional systems planning, and post- construction site stewardship, management, and research. Jim received an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture, and master's degrees In both landscape aral~teetuce and civil engi- neering (water resources). In .over 20. years of practice, he has worked- for academic institutions, a public conservation agency, and for both large and small psivate design and environmental conanlfing firms. Jim combines Ms.training as a landscape archi- teat and hydrologist in the development of natural resource-based site planning and dasign techniques involving the integration of naive landscapes, the preservation and enhancement of natural systems, and the design of innovative sturmwater management strategies. Prior to forming Conservation Design Forum in 1994, Jim served as Environmental Services Manager in the Chicago office of Johnson , Johnson & Roy, Inc., and is currently Chair of the American Society of Landscape Architect's Water Conservation Professional Interest Group as well as a member of the ASLA's Continuing Education Committee. i3r. Gerould Wilheim~ Vice President, Conservation Design Forum, Inc., is a noted botanist and ecologist, and co- author of the defiff~tive text, Plants of the Chicago Region, one of only two such works in the world rated as "excellent" by Robert Frodin, author of .4 Geographic Guide to the Floras of the World. He is responsfble for the development of the Floristic Quality Assessment method of evaluating the natural quality of plant communities. The methodology has now been adapted for use in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Otfto, pasts of Wisconsin and Indiana, and southern On- tario. Jerry is a nationally recognized leader in the ecological restoration movement, and has served as the Midwest Board representative in the Society for Ecological Restoration. Prior to joining Conservation Design Forum in January, 1996, Jerry was employed for 22 years as a research taxonomist with the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, illinois. A special thamks to Linda Masters of Con- servation Design Forum and Jean Sellas of the U.S. Army Corps of Engincers, Chicago D/strict, both friends and colleagues, for volunteering their time and patience towards editing this article. 13 by Claire A. Knepper Everyone knows the challenges of maintaining roofs, particularly those prone to leaks. Solv'mg the problem can create a headache for most property managers, and though it may seem preposterous at first thought, a garden rooftop could be the solution. Designed to manage storm water, a garden rooftop can also give your commercial property a financial, marketing, and public relations edge. Black Tar Vs. Red Roses Take a look at yons roofs: A convendonal roof is not only uninteresting and unattractive, it is costly. Conventional roofs burden the owner with higher than necessary mainte- nance and energy costs, where as a garden rooftop can equal potential gains for your property. The appeal in garden rooftops lies foremost in their energy savings bur also in their allure to potential tenants. A garden rooftop uses avail- able space to improve the environment, gain community support, and beautify the property. Forget the obliqueness of bhck taJ and instead imagine those roofs with a sea of fragrant herbs and flowers, maybe even a few trees. A barren landscape of a roof can be replaced by just about any type of garden, induding some recreatiollal aress. You can design a roof for many functions, depending on the buildings structure, the amount of available space, and the climatic conditions. An enthns'mstic golfer in Berlin, for example, even put a mini-sized golf course on his roof to get in a few ~short' rounds dur'mg the workday. The load-bearing capacity of a roof depends on its srtuc- ture, and a structural engineer needs to evaluate a roof to determine how much weight a mol can support. According to Tim Kaye, principal at Halvorson and Kaye Structural Engineers, there are no hard and fast rules for determining the load-bearing capacity of a roof. =However, generally, the older a building is, the greater chances the roof structure can support a more elaborate gar- den rooftop system," Kaye says. "The newer buildings tend to become leaner as the dollar begins to play a more impor- tant role in construction. Concrete buildings tend to be, but not always, stronger then a timber or steel roof. Another JOURNAL OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT big factor m consider is maintenance. If a roof has been pmperly maintained, the structme of the roof has been pro- tected so that the wood hasn't rotted, the steel rusted, or the concrete cracked.' Thanks to advances in technolng~ garden rooftops can be instated on a slanted roof~erally up to 30 degrees-- or a flat roof. A slanted roof of an enttyway can be covered in vibrant red, yellow, and orange flowers to greet clients as they enter the property. A highly visible, fiat roof can be tm'ned into a natural rock garden with ponds and foun- tains. The area can be any size, from a 12-square-foot English-style garden m a 4,200-sqnare-foot native prairie. Comparing Costs If you are warming to the feasibility and benefit of garden rooftops' potential, you are probably questioning their costs. As with most cost-benefit analysis, you must consider the long-term benefits. Imtal~ion and Maintenance Costs: Conventional roofs are the choice for minimum irtitial investment. A basic con- ventional roof, according to Raediger, costs an average of $8 m $10 les~ per square foot than a garden rooftop. From a Iong-tetm perspective, however, a conventional roof can cost much more than a garden roof. The difference is their relationship with Mother Nature. Conventional roofs block the dements for around 15 m 20 years. Bur the elements, including the ultraviolet rays and severe dimadc conditions, ultimately destroy the waterproofing. "If a person stays in the sun without pro- tection for an extended period of time," as Matt Carr, green roof manager of the nanonal company American Hydroteeh, Inc., points out, "the skin is degraded by the ultraviolet rays. The same is true for roofs." The waterproofing membrane of a garden rooftop is protected from this exposure by plants, soil, and other structures. These protective layers, according to Alexander Edel, an environmental engineer with the Conservation Design Forum (CDF) in Illinois, says "garden rooftops last a minimum of 50 13ercent longer than conventional roo~' and often require no more than a yearly roof inspection, MARcH/APP. IL 2000 just as conventional roofs do. The waterproofing's increased life expectancy means big savings on maintenance costs, helping property managers meet their bottom line. Energy Costs and Pollution: Roofs are often taken for granted and are seen as simply being protection from the elements and rnaintemmce liabil- ities. Garden rooftops challenge these perceptions by providing the maxi- mum amount of insulation technology available, which reduces the heavy costs of air conditioning and heating. The black tar covering conven- tional roofs heats up the inside of buildin~ during the summer, so we turn up our air conditioners. Dining the winter we mm up our heaters due to the negligible insulation between the elements and us. The result of all these temperature adjustments is additionsl strain on roofing material and increased pollution levels, not to mention high energy bills. The vast expanse of conventional roofs in dries exacerbates these prob- lems, particularly in the summer when the air can be 6 to 8 degrees hotter than the surrounding country- side. The conventional roofs are heat sources and the urbanscape absorbs the effects. "In Baltimore, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington, Shanghai, and Tokyo, for example, scientific data show that Julys maximum tempera- tures during the last 30 to 80 years have been steadily increasing at a rate of 55° to I° F every 10 years." For every V2° F increase in daily maxi- mum temperatures, according to the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD), demand for power rises 3 percent. Increased demand for energy drives up energy costs as power plants burn more fossil fuels, which increases the incidences of smog. In Los Angeles, EETD noted that smog levels increase by 3 percent for each degree increase in tempera- rares above 70° E Garden rooftops provide insula- tion, reduce energy costs, and improve the environment, while beautifying a property. According to ZhaCo, a German-based company that has pioneered garden rooftop technology, gardens cur heat loss from buildings by up to 50 percent. The Heat Island Group's study of heat-reducing measures revealed energy savings of 10 to 40 percent for commercial and residential proper- ties. The soil soaks up the sun's rays, reducing the heat typically radiated from a mol. For example, when the material of a conventional roof is around 176° F, the garden rooftop will be only 77° F. The vegetation of garden rooftops also cools the surrounding air, filters out dust parddes from the air, and enriches the air with oxygen. As Albreacht Diirr, a German specialist, explains in Dachbegrammg, ~Fifty percent [of rainwater] evaporates from an extensive roofscape, 70 per- cent evaporates from an intensive roofiacape, and 90 to 100 percent evaporates from a lavish intensive [roofscape].' The vegetation collects water, which eventually transpires and evaporates to increase humidity levels and cool the air. Water Management Costs: A con- vendonal roof has nearly 100-percent water runoff, which stresses drainage systems and storm sewers. The addi- tional stress reduces the viability of water management systems and often increases incidences of flooding. ZinCo has found that plants' root systems soak up and use 70 to 80 per- cent of the water contacting a garden roof, even during heavy storms. A drainage system can be nsed to actu- ally store water to ensure the vegetation has water during dry spells. These additional benefits of garden rooftops reduce stress on drainage systems, minimize the potential for flooding, and sustain the garden. JOURNAL OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT square foot than comparable build- ings in the area." Environmental Appeal City governments want to conserve energ~ manage storm water runoff, and reduce ozone levels and air pollu- tion m help them meet federal regulatiom and boost their images as desirable places to live. They are studying garden rooftops as one way m satisfy all of these objectives. Chicago, Sacramento, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Salt Lake City are participating in a pilot study with the Environmental Protection Agency to test the effectiveness oi5 methods to minimize, heat-island effects through changes in building designs. The study is testing the U.S. Department of Energy and other agendes' theory that installing heat- reducing items, such as solar panels, reflective surfaces, and rooftop gar- dens, on a grand scale, could lower a drys temperature by five degrees. The Heat Island Group's studies reveal that the potential energy sav- ings of light-colored roofs alone, without the vegetation, could save Chicago $10 million annually. ~ChiCago chose to focus on green- roofs (garden rooftops)," says Jessica Rio of the Chicago Environmental Department, ~because the city feared reflective surfaces would impede heating buildings and lead to increased power demands in the win- ter.~ The emphasis of the program, Rio says, is ~the reduction of electtic- ity use through testing the potential cumulative effects of a citywide greenroof program." The city plans to focus on larger buildings, which have the greatest potential m mitigate the heat-island effect. Go for the Green You as a property developer, owner, or manager may find that installing garden rooftops prepares you for what appears to be upcoming regula- tions. The appeal and practicality of garden rooftops will certainly con- tribute to your competitive ad- vantage. If you want the edge that garden rooftops offer, consider putting garden roofs at the mp of the year's ~to-do~ list. Claire Knepper is a freelance writer based in Naperville, III. Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Property Management © 2000 Institute of Real Estate Management. Suite Home Chicago Suite Home Chicago will be displayed on the streets of Chicago from June 1, 2001 to October 13, 2001. Like the cows of 1999, thire will be attlst-designed furniture ali over the civ]. For more information call 312.744.2400. THE PLAY GARDEN of recreational activities, color~l paving, floral displa?s, and sculpture, showcasing some of the fi.m things that can be added to rcoftops. EXIT/! HerblVegetable Presented by National FOLLOW YOUR OWN LEAD~ A Rooftop Garden is... An'/portion of a huildgsg ~r other struct~tre with plantings on the upper surface, exposed to the dements. Roaftng space i~ a vast, virtually untapped resource that has the potential of being converted to valuable teal estate by making it into perks, gardens and meadows. By thinking about rooftops as an a~et capable of enhanng~g a beiidgsg for its owners and tenants, the ent?e city can become wore beautifi~l. Rooftop gardens Me m~der the jurisdiction of the City's building code, and The City of Chicngo has been promoting the idea of rooftop gardens for years. The City has just installed a "green roof," or a {gsing roof system, on top of City Hall as a demonstration and model of teehmques that have been evolv over the past thirty or so pears, a green roof is a type of rooftop garden that integrates plants, engineered soil, and drainage medium with waterproofing membrane into the building as a compJete roofing system. ways, which absorb and retain heat and can ~tse the average tempera- ture five to fifteen degrees. · Plants in rooftop gardens help to improve air quality both by absorb· ing carbon dioxide and ~Icasing o~gen (photosynthesis) and by fd- tering dust partides from the air. GARDEN8 IN THE 8KY WA8 MADE POSSIBLE WITH: CONSERVATION DESJGN FORUM CONSERVATION LAND STEWARDSHIP SPONSOR8 Natimml City · CornEd * City of Chiengo IN OOLLABORA?ION WITH City of Chicago Green Roof Inftastrueture Committee Department of Environment * Mayor's Office * Chicago Park District Department of Cultural Affair~ · 2001 Chicago Flower & Garden Show IN Architects & Planners