Jeffrey Odefey
Director, Stormwater Program
Department: Conservation
Area of Focus: Jeff coordinates a broad effort to improve the health and vitality of our communities through better stormwater regulation and management.
Background: Jeff joined American Rivers in 2011. For the previous eight years, he was a staff attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance directing programs to solve water quality problems caused by runoff and factory farms. He has also been a staff attorney with Hudson Riverkeeper and a curator of public arts programs.
Education: B.A. in Art History & English from University of Colorado, M.A. in English from the Univeristy of Montana, JD from Pace University School of Law.
Favorite River: Blackfoot River, MT
Blog Posts By This Author
American Rivers Releases Guide To Integrate Green Infrastructure Into Stormwater Permits
January 17, 2013 | Climate Change, Stormwater & Sewage, Urban Rivers, Water Supply
Most of us don’t think about “urban stormwater” or “polluted runoff” until we notice flooding from a recent storm covering our roads and parking lots, as shown here.
But polluted stormwater runoff from our rooftops, roads and shopping centers pollutes our streams and rivers across the country and is the leading pollution source in places like the Puget Sound.
Much Ado About Flooding - Using Green Infrastructure to Reduce A Growing Problem
January 3, 2013 | Floods & Floodplains, Urban Rivers, Stormwater & Sewage
To a considerable extent, the repeated crisis of local flooding is a result of the way we’ve historically built our storm sewer systems to move rainfall away from our communities in gutters, tunnels, and ditches. However, as more land is built and paved over with rooftops and parking lots, more rainfall flows into the storm sewer system in ever greater volumes.
Read more »Sewer Line Breaks, Dumping Raw Sewage in the Hudson
August 10, 2012 | Water Pollution, Stormwater & Sewage, Water Supply
Many of our programs and efforts here at American Rivers are focused on creating the “right” water infrastructure for our communities. Particularly in older towns and cities, like the Hudson River Valley town where I live, our water and sewer pipes are more than a century old, and maintaining or replacing them is a constant challenge for local governments. When these old sewer lines break, residents and rivers alike pay the price.
Read more »Just how are we going to pay for it? Imagining new ways to finance our water infrastructure.
May 29, 2012 | Water Pollution, Stormwater & Sewage
In previous blog posts we’ve pointed out how the water services we rely upon are widely underfunded and threatened by age, inefficiencies, and ever-increasing demands. As the economic downturn continues to strain municipal and water utility budgets, developing new approaches to financing our critical infrastructure and services is becoming more and more important.
Read more »Green in the Bank – Releasing a New Report on Green Infrastructure Today
April 12, 2012 | Water Pollution, Stormwater & Sewage, Climate Change
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.
Read more »