Thursday, October 1, 2009

New Public LID Projects for Tulsa, Norman

Part of the American Recovery and and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included provisions for clean water projects in Oklahoma. All in all, Oklahoma was granted access to $31,662,100 in funds to improve water quality within the state. One of the stipulations of the ARRA is that 20% of these funds, or about $6.3MM, be used for "green" infrastructure projects.


Three projects that have been funded as part of the "green reserve" are an experimental green roof at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, redevelopment of the dry pools into roof gardens at the downtown Tulsa City/County Library, and development of raingardens at the Tulsa City/County Library location in Sperry.



At the National Weather Center, a section of roof has been set apart for installation of a green roof system. The purpose of this roof section, as with many aspects of the NWC, is to educate the public. According the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, "Wide spread adoption of green roof technology remains absent in Oklahoma due to a limited local knowledge. This roof will be the first step to correct market deficiencies through knowledge creation and dissemination."


At the Tulsa City/County downtown library, we've all seen the "reflecting pools" located south of the library in the roof of the parking garage. The pools have been dry for as long as I can remember due to maintenance and structural issues and are something of an embarrassment, considering their location next to the Convention Center. The new green roof garden will be an asset and far more aesthetically pleasing.



The last LID project currently funded is installation of raingardens at the Sperry library. Sperry has had significant flooding issues in the past and the library continues to have a wet spot outside the front door. Why not a raingarden? This installation should address about 50% of the runoff from the facility and provide an educational opportunity as well.