Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) invited everyone to climb a ladder and look at the new green roof Tuesday, June 20, at the groundbreaking ceremony for a stormwater retrofit project. The project, which filters and manages stormwater runoff using the green roof as well as a rain garden and permeable pavers, will be used as a demonstration for the rest of the community.
Smyth would like to lead the way in reducing pollutants in stormwater runoff. "It’s not just ‘do as we say,’ but ‘do as we do.’ That’s our purpose here," she said.
"Ultimately, we hope that developers will use [the stormwater project] in their land planning," said Tania Hossain-Almaraz, administrative aide in Smyth’s office.
Hossain-Almaraz said that the project was just as feasible for homeowners as for county agencies; for example, a homeowner could create a rain garden of certain plants that filter out pollutants from drainage water.
"This is our back yard," said Jimmie Jenkins of the Department of Public Works. "This is what we will do to help in some small way, but I think it will be a beacon."