First there was the cleanup.  Then the recovery.  Now that process is becoming a process of rebuilding.  It's been about five months since the Superstorm.  Several environmentalists are pushing for more green practices before the shovels even hit the ground.

Low Impact Development (LID) booklet
Low Impact Development (LID) booklet (Jason Allentoff, Townsquare Media NJ)
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The 10th Legislative District, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, American Littoral Society, Clean Ocean Action and Save Barnegat Bay held a workshop at the Ocean County Library Toms River branch Wednesday morning.  The purpose was to promote low impact development, or LID, techniques.  The primary focus of LID is the way development handles stormwater, or the precipitation collected and concentrated by impervious surfaces and alterations in terrain, vegetation and hydrology on a developed site.

A new print guide is now available and covers how to build with LID in mind, especially in the Barnegat Bay Watershed.  Director of Conservation Policy Jacklyn Rhoads says "by designing with nature in mind, the first step would be planning while identifying the fingerprint of your land.  There are many ways to do this and keep the environment healthy.  Stormwater runoff, especially pollution, can be very detrimental to our waterways.  That's why we are promoting these practices."

Princeton Hydro President Dr. Stephen Souza says "these methods can help reduce building costs, protect the environment and return the water back into the soil."

Souza adds "we can't rebuild the shore the same way as before.  If we do, we are destined for problems later on when the next storm hits."

Jaclyn Rhoads gives a presentation at the workshop
Jaclyn Rhoads gives a presentation at the workshop (Jason Allentoff, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Princeton Hydro presented Low Impact Development Techniques for Barnegat Bay, and American Littoral Society presented information on its bayscaping program. The workshop is intended to help integrate LID techniques into planning and development. Free guides were provided.  They plan to hold several more meetings in the coming months.

To obtain the guide, visit pinelandsalliance.org

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