Jeffrey Odefey
Director, Stormwater Program

Blog Posts By This Author

Green in the Bank – Releasing a New Report on Green Infrastructure Today

April 12, 2012 | Clean Water, Greening Water Infrastructure, Stormwater & Sewage, Global Warming

Stormwater. Urban runoff. The puddles and streams in the gutter that flow into storm drains and neighborhood creeks every time it rains. For many of us, it’s a problem that escapes our attention, but it’s a significant source of water pollution that makes beaches, lakes and rivers unsafe to swim or fish in, contributes to sewer overflows and neighborhood flooding, and plagues local environments. These impacts have real costs: dollars and cents lost to management plans that don’t really address the problem, recreational businesses that suffer, and the costs to repair flooded homes and streets. Reducing runoff through green infrastructure can reduce these costs, and provide other valuable benefits.

Putting People to Work, the Green Infrastructure Way

March 9, 2012 | Greening Water Infrastructure, Clean Water, Stormwater & Sewage

As river advocates, we tend to talk a lot about polluted stormwater runoff, and the need to reduce pollution from our streets, parking lots and roofs that ends up in our rivers every time it rains. Building more green infrastructure, such as green roofs and rain gardens, is becoming a very promising approach to reducing runoff into our storm sewers and creeks and rivers, so we talk about that a lot too.

Sewage spill in NY’s Hudson River

July 22, 2011 | Clean Water, Greening Water Infrastructure, Protecting Rivers, Stormwater & Sewage

After a fire at a wastewater treatment plant in upper Manhattan, millions of gallons of untreated sewage continue to pour into the river. Once again, it’s not safe to swim, fish, or sail in our local waters.