|
|
- Info
Trees tackle clean water regs
| Author: |
Beattie, Jeff; Kollin, Cheryl; Moll, Gary |
| Date: |
2000 |
| Periodical: |
American Forests |
| Abstract: |
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the quality of the nation's waterways was so bad that by 1972 Congress passed the Clean Water Act and set in motion a national effort to remove pollution from the nation's waterways, bring back the fish, and make safe swimming possible. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, water quality has improved substantially, but the work is far from finished. In 1990 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported to Congress that one-third of U.S. waterways were impaired by stormwater runoff, which directly affects water quality. Today the EPA's regulatory efforts - continue and are directed at more and different sources of pollution. Continuing the clean up will engage a wider audience and require more innovative approaches. Locally, cities can employ new strategies such as using trees to help clean water naturally and tying urban greening to property cost-saving incentives. AMERICAN FORESTS' CITYgreen software has been designed as a tool to help people understand how trees affect stormwater and to help them make better planning decisions. |
|
