Climate Change and Storm Water Utilities [U.S. Water Crisis Part Two]
TOPICIntegrated Water Resource and Infrastructure Management IN THIS EPISODE[01:43] Introduction of Matthew Naud. [01:54] Matthew explains what his job as the Environmental Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor entails. [02:42] Matthew shares his personal background and what motivates him to do his work. [03:33] Matthew describes his session at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. [04:42] What kind of water or climate-change challenges is Ann Arbor facing, and what’s being done to meet those challenges? [06:10] What’s being done to deal with the increased amount of precipitation, and what are the implications to the community of that increased precipitation? [08:24] Matthew explains why increased rainfall and runoff is a challenge and why the storm-water utility was created. [10:23] Matthew shares the implications of not managing the storm-water runoff. [11:31] In Flint, is the source of the water that is being used part of the problem? [14:00] Are there other communities that have created this storm-water utility and taken this approach that Ann Arbor has? [15:00] How long has Ann Arbor had that system in place? [15:13] Did it face any legal challenges or real political pushback? [16:14] Is funding the rest of the infrastructure equally challenging? [18:49] What is the quantity of water that people can get for a dollar? [19:42] Is there any reason why these approaches that are taken in Ann Arbor not broadly transferrable to other places? [20:25] Do you get many people asking you how you do it and learning from Ann Arbor’s approach? [21:30] Are there any other cities in Michigan that have a storm-water utility? [21:49] Matthew shares where listeners can learn more about he’s doing in Ann Arbor. [22:23] Matthew shares one change that would lead to smarter, more sustainable, and more equitable communities. [23:03] Matthew explains the action that listeners can take to help build a more equitable and sustainable future. [23:29] Matthew shares what Ann Arbor looks like 30 years from now. GUESTMatthew Naud has been the Environmental Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor since 2001. He staffs the City’s Environmental Commission and makes recommendations to the City Administrator, Mayor, and City Council on a broad range of sustainability issues. Mr. Naud is a member of the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network where he serves on the Planning Committee, Innovation Committee, and Small Cities User Group. Mr. Naud was recently appointed to a three year term on the USEPA Board of Scientific Counselors – Sustainable and Healthy Communities Subcommittee. He holds Masters degrees from the University of Michigan in Biology and Public Policy and an undergraduate degree from Boston College. ORGANIZATIONThe city of Ann Arbor is committed to providing excellent municipal services that enhance the quality of life for all through the intelligent use of resources while valuing an open environment that fosters fair, sensitive, and respectful treatment of all employees and the community they serve. Ann Arbor has 114,000 residents, spans 28.6 square miles, and is frequently recognized as a foremost place to live, learn, work, thrive and visit (http://www.a2gov.org/news (www.a2gov.org/news)). To keep up with City of Ann Arbor information, subscribe for email updates (http://www.a2gov.org/subscribe (www.a2gov.org/subscribe)), follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/a2gov (http://twitter.com/a2gov)) or become a city fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/thecityofannarbor (www.facebook.com/thecityofannarbor)). TAKEAWAY QUOTES“We work a lot with—it’s called the Graham Sustainability Institute and they have a climate center and so for about the last five years we’ve been working together. One of the things that they’ve demonstrated is…we’ve seen a 42% increase in precipitation. We’ve seen a significant change in the amount of rain. Extreme storms are up 40%. So, that’s what we’re measuring, and it’s been great...