How we manage rainwater on our property or on public land affects city drainage on a larger scale.It is the collective impact that can either worsen or improve drainage issues for our streets and neighborhoods.
Improving drainage begins with how we allow rainwater to interact with our individual home lot or on our street.
Water Wise NOLA has put together a workshop lasting an hour and a half to address do-it yourself, practical, affordable solutions. We call these solutions “green infrastructure” — in contrast to traditional concrete and pipe solutions, “gray infrastructure.”
Retaining water strategically on your property means:
- Less water entering the municipal drainage system
- Less overfilling of city drainage pipes and canals
- Less burden on our pumping system
- Less pollutants in Lake Pontchartrain
- Less subsidence or sinking and shifting of our streets and foundations
- Less worry about localized flooding
Presented by water professionals and enthusiasts, the workshop will cover the following topics:
- How to look at the big picture
- The basics of green infrastructure
- How to assess drainage on your home lot
- Recipes for drainage improvements
- Rain barrel building and installation
Water Wise Neighborhood Champions
In April 2016, 22 neighborhood leaders and their guests came together to become the first Water Wise Neighborhood Champions!
What is a Neighborhood Water Wise Champion?
Neighborhood leaders are already experts about their communities. A Neighborhood Water Wise Champion is someone who is now considered a “citizen expert” on water management and green infrastructure. When they marry the expertise of their community with newly learned information about green infrastructure, they become a champion for advancing green infrastructure in their neighborhoods in a way that truly serves their communities.
What is the Neighborhood Water Wise Champion Training?
The Water Wise NOLA Neighborhood Champions training is a one-and-a-half-day program to advance participants’ understanding of green infrastructure, to learn about green infrastructure projects around the city through an educational guided tour, and to develop skills and build resources to create their own neighborhood-based green infrastructure projects at a range of scales. Day one is the city-wide chartered bus tour of green infrastructure sites. Day two is a visioning workshop that takes place in a classroom.
Water Wise Gulf South 