All Flows Lead to Lake Erie Stormwater Series
Erie regional nonprofit organizations and agencies recently teamed up to offer an event series focused on what Lake Erie Watershed communities can do to combat our greatest water quality challenge: polluted runoff. Events this spring and summer will highlight what elected officials and leaders, property owners, and households can do to protect Lake Erie.
As water flows across the Lake Erie Watershed after rain or snowmelt, it can pick up many different pollutants such as litter, plastics, pesticides, fertilizers, sediment, sewage, and other harmful materials. The systems we design to move this water, typically built of concrete and other hard surfaces, speed water and these pollutants up, ultimately rushing into Lake Erie.
Many communities across the globe are rethinking how to manage their stormwater runoff, including using “green stormwater infrastructure” which introduces native plants and trees to built infrastructure and reduces paved surfaces. The series will start with a virtual event discussing global stories of water innovators, and consider how we may replicate these lessons in our watershed.
The series will then shift to in-person events throughout the summer showcasing Erie’s water experts and the diverse ways they work to address our regional stormwater challenges. Join us to explore how you can get involved in these efforts!
We will update this webpage periodically as registration opens for each event.
Event Schedule:
Upcoming Events:
Friday, July 12 - Community Storm Drain Art Installation
Location: Near the Neighborhood Art House at E 10th & Holland Streets
Time: 10-12:30 pm
Hosts: Neighborhood Art House & Pennsylvania Sea Grant
Join students and staff of the Neighborhood Art House and partnering Pennsylvania Sea Grant to place graphics on storm drains at East 10th and Holland Streets. Artists and instructors of the Art House created these beautiful graphics meant to raise awareness that stormwater runoff goes directly into our bay and lake. If you cannot attend the installation event, stop by and snap a picture this summer! No registration is required.
Wednesday, August 7th - Tap Talk: Deep Dive into Stormwater Issues
Register Here: https://extension.psu.edu/tap-talks-deep-dive-into-stormwater-issues
Location: Erie Ale Works (416 W 12th St, Erie, PA)
Time: 5-8 pm
Hosts: Penn State Extension Erie, Crawford, & Warren County Master Watershed Steward Program, City of Erie, & PennFuture
This workshop will include networking opportunities and a one-hour presentation on stormwater issues by Dr. Peter Stempel, Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Penn State University. When not properly managed, stormwater can overwhelm streams, cause flooding and soil erosion, and contribute to surface water pollution. We will discuss stormwater issues that impact us locally and in nearby cities, and how infrastructure management plays a role in mitigating these problems.
DATE CHANGE: Wednesday, August 28th - Erie Stormwater Best Management Practices Walking Tour
Register Here: https://secure.everyaction.com/GZMsuIGKTEKHxcSropnN1A2
Location: City of Erie including stops in downtown, the West Bayfront neighborhood, and the waterfront.
Time: 5-7 pm
Hosts: The City of Erie, PennFuture, and the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Program with presentations from other clean water partners.
The tour begins at Erie City Hall at 5 pm before snaking through the West Bayfront and waterfront and concluding near the Courtyard Erie Bayfront. A shuttle service will be available to return participants to Perry Square afterward. Please be prepared for a leisurely urban walk of up to two miles. The path includes some inclines and slopes, but all areas are ADA-accessible. The event will be held rain or shine.
TENTATIVE DATE CHANGE: Wednesday, September 18th - Virtual Stormwater Policy Briefing
Registration details to come.
Location: Zoom Webinar
Time: 6-7 pm
Hosts: PennFuture, Our Water, Our Air, Our Rights, & Benedictines for Peace
PennFuture and partners will provide an overview of the policy tools available to local governments in Pennsylvania to curb polluted runoff and the status and use of those tools by decision-makers in the Lake Erie Watershed.
Past Events:
Saturday, May 4th, 9-11 am & Sunday, June 9th, 9-11 am - Community Rain Barrel Workshops (SOLD OUT)
Hosts: Asbury Woods, Millcreek Township, & Erie County Conservation District
Due to high demand, these community workshops sold out, and at least 140 people joined waitlists! The hosts hope to hold more of these workshops in the future.
Saturday, May 11th - Community Water Walk & Litter Clean Up
See the Erie Downtown Partnership’s post about the event here!
Location: Perry Square to Dobbins Landing
Time: 11-2 pm
Hosts: Groundwork Erie, Erie Downtown Partnership, & Erie Water Works
Thursday, April 25th - Water Always Wins: A Virtual Conversation with Science Journalist & Author Erica Gies
Event Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvAIA24-qZg
Host: PennFuture in collaboration with Pressed Books + Coffee + Gifts
Author Erica Gies discussed her book Water Always wins: Thriving in An Age of Drought & Deluge.