[two_fifth background_position=”center center” ][imageframe link=”http://www.saveitlancaster.com/” ] On the heels of a successful Choose Clean Water Conference held in early June, the Local Government Advisory Committee held its Quarterly meeting at the same location, the downtown Lancaster Marriott and Convention Center.Conference and Committee members got to see first hand what has become one of the most recognized local government efforts to clean up local rivers and streams whose flows end up in the Chesapeake Bay.

Under the leadership of LGAC Chair and Lancaster Mayor, J. Richard “Rick” Gray, the city has embarked on a comprehensive and sustained program to implement a green infrastructure plan.In a preamble toLancasterCity’s Strategic Plan, Mayor Gray quotes Yogi Berra who once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up someplace else.” As Mayor Gray pointed out, “This is especially true with government.”[two_fifth background_position=”center center” ][youtube id=”BBgSLNz7UA4″ width=”600″ height=”350″ ]With forward thinking leadership under the direction of the Mayor and Public Works Director Charlotte Katzenmoyer, the City has taken charge of where it is going.It has decided to control storm water runoff through a series of local projects that will absorb and retain rainwater and prevent excessive flows to Lancaster’s combined sewer system.One article described the City the ” The Big Green Sponge.”The plan is a logical and affordable alternative to costly and time consuming retrofits, and seeks to achieve the same objectives.

In this video, Mayor Gray describes the background and rationale for their approach and shows the kind of diverse and cost effective ways the city will protect and restore its local waterways and prevent pollution from reaching the Chesapeake Bay.Like every other local government in the Bay Watershed,Lancaster has its own set of unique economic and environmental challenges.Their approach does illustrate how local communities working in partnership with federal, state, and local governments with active support from non-profit organizations like Live Green Lancaster, can make a difference in protecting local water quality.As the Mayor likes to point out, “We are creating a feeling of pride and accomplishment among its citizens and leaving a legacy for future generations.”

http://www.saveitlancaster.com/city-of-lancaster-green-infrastructure/For more information contact: