Description:

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The Stormwater Innovation Center (SIC) presented a series of stormwater and green infrastructure maintenance trainings in the spring of 2023. The trainings were provided in three installments, as outlined below. Resources for this training series, including slide presentations, can be found HERE. 

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Installments:

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Training 1 - Wednesday, April 26, 2023  – Green Infrastructure Maintenance (held in Roger Williams Park at the Botanical Center)

This training, presented by Botanical Center Director Lee Ann Freitas, provided attendees with an overview of how green infrastructure projects are maintained by the crews at Roger Williams Park. Attendees ventured into the field within the Park to “sleuth” through a variety of green infrastructure maintenance issues affecting BMPs, and came up with suggested maintenance plans to share. This session also included a Stormwater 101 presentation given by the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve's Coastal Training Program Coordinator, Jen West.

 

Training 2 - Wednesday, May 3, 2023 – Monitoring and Evaluating Green Infrastructure Function (held in Roger Williams Park at the Botanical Center)

This training, presented by Stormwater Innovation Center Director Ryan Kopp, covered low-tech, low-cost methods to evaluate green infrastructure function. A short BMP anatomy primer was also be provided for background on the basic components of BMPs and their functions. Attendees went into the field to further inspect BMPs at the Park and learned to identify signs of suboptimal performance.

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Training 3 - Thursday, May 25, 2023 – Municipal Stormwater Inspection and Maintenance (held in North Kingstown, RI – North Kingstown Town Hall)

MS4 permits require regular inspection and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure. This workshop, presented North Kingstown municipal staff, covered how the Town inspects, monitors and maintains stormwater infrastructure in North Kingstown. Joel Rocha, North Kingstown’s Stormwater Specialist reviewed the Town’s process for effectively engaging with Homeowner Associations on stormwater maintenance. Attendees traveled to two sites in North Kingstown to observe these systems up-close and learn how Joel worked with the owner to improve system maintenance.