Members of the Technical Committee of the Eagle Creek Watershed Alliance (ECWA) adjourned their meeting September 12th to tour and view the stormwater practices at INTECH Park. As well as being the largest office park in Indiana, it is a leader in combing advanced infrastructure design with low impact development and stormwater practices, something they call “Parkology – the marriage between technology and nature”.
Jill details some of the practices that will be seen
Joining the committee, were local planning officials from Zionsville as well as a Boone County Commissioner, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, MS4 Administrators and others interested in the development challenges the southeastern corner of Boone County faces. Jill Hoffman of Empower Results, and ECWA Coordinator, explained the directing of runoff from the parking lots through bio-swales as primary treatment before entering detention ponds and finally a constructed wetland when exiting the park. She emphasized the importance of using a “treatment train” approach and its ability to improve stormwater above minimal required standards.
A major factor of INTECH contributing to “… beautiful waterscapes and recreation areas (that) are unparalleled.” is STORMWATER! Jill’s mantra of “celebrate stormwater” was clearly demonstrated during the tour.
But most important was the audience of local officials responsible for the planning and passing of ordinances that control development. All too often developers, such as those at INTECH Park, are faced with a mountain of regulations and requirements, often conflicting, all time consuming, that inhibit using new practices or thinking outside the box. Many times due to the pressures of time and economics, a developer will yield to the bureaucracy and just build it to code; another strip mall, another vinyl village, or whatever to meet the code requirements at the minimum. Meeting the minimum doesn’t improve water quality.
Eagle Creek Watershed Alliance has been a leader in targeting local officials to educate them to the need for more flexibility in ordinances and codes so that new and innovative practices aren’t met by a wall of red tape and “we have always done it this way” mentality. It is an important viewpoint that your watershed may wish to consider, if you haven’t done so already.
