News Releases - 2002

Ryan Announces $1,242,000 Federally Funded Grant For Parking Lot Pollution Management Demonstration At Morton Arboretum

Springfield, Ill. -- Governor George H. Ryan today announced that a grant of $1,242,000 in federal funds has been awarded to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle for an innovative demonstration project on reducing nonpoint source water pollution through improved management of urban parking areas.

Funding comes from the U.S. EPA section 319 financial assistance grant program, which is administered by the Illinois EPA.

Nonpoint source pollution caused by stormwater or snow melt running over non-porous parking areas, sidewalks, and roadways can damage local water quality and reduce the amount and diversity of aquatic life in streams that flow through urban areas. The demonstration project will include bioswales (vegetated depressions that retain runoff for more gradual release), the use of pervious materials, a gravel drainage layer and a level water spreader. Water spreaders convert concentrated stormwater flows to a broader "sheet flow" that is released uniformly over a stabilized area. The planned best management practices will make the parking areas more visually attractive while reducing stormwater-related damage.

Gov. Ryan hailed the project for its creativity and comparative simplicity.

"Efforts like this demonstration show us protecting our resources and environment don't always have to be high-tech efforts," he said.

IEPA Director Renee Cipriano also hailed the plan's use of vegetation and natural materials to provide improved water quality as well as a more scenic alternative to sheets of bare asphalt. "When you can have more trees and plants, and also have less water pollution, you have a win-win situation," she said.

The grant agreement also calls for the Arboretum to offer workshops to train city managers, developers and engineers to promote the use of these practices in northeastern Illinois and to use interpretive signs to foster public awareness.

The project targets reducing nonpoint source pollution to Meadow Lake and the East Branch of the DuPage River.