Clean water appeals to the eye and community spirit. Cool waters offer refreshing places to swim on a hot summer day. Or sit in the shade to enjoy the sweet sounds of a babbling brook, or to contemplate a tranquil lake.
We ask businesses to consider the value of clean water. Improving your property to keep water healthy will benefit your family, your employees and your customers. Adding storm runoff purification will enhance your property, as well as show your commitment to a “greener” business.
If your business has a parking lot, there are many ways to keep polluted runoff out of catch basins that dump into streams. Attractive practices such as rain gardens, groundcovers, porous walkways and stone swales will cleanse oil, grease, metals, grit and other pollutants from cars.
Allowing dirty runoff to seep into the soil not only purifies it, but also recharges the groundwater that feeds streams in dry times. Reducing runoff will help lessen flooding that often occurs in business areas.
All types of businesses, small and large, can install infiltration practices that absorb rain and snow melt. Builders can apply Low Impact Development (LID) to reduce infrastructure costs and create residential, commercial and industrial projects that are more appealing to the community. More information about these LID techniques is available from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as well as other websites listed in the BGY Resources page.
We welcome opportunities to supply helpful information for businesses including:
- Practical guidance about simple, low-cost infiltration practices
- Information about state and federal stormwater policies and regulations
- Presentations for Rotary Clubs and Chambers of Commerce to share with your members
- Analysis of your property and options to reduce storm runoff
- Help with arranging landscape design services for stormwater solutions
- Advice about contractors who know how to install infiltration practices
This information includes A Community Guide to Growing Greener – a voluntary approach for clean water and better development that can be downloaded from this website.
We invite business leaders to send examples of infiltration practices that can be shared with other businesses. Solutions by businesses will be recognized on this website, at community conferences and through BGY newsletters and announcements to newspapers, radio and television.