what's up everybody Welcome to on West Gray the monthly podcast about all things local government in the city of Norman I'm your host Tiffany Vera Chief Communications officer for the city of Norman and we appreciate you tuning in today in the studio with us we have Michelle loudenbeck manager of the city of Norman's division of environmental resilience and sustainability also known as the doers she is here today to talk to us about the division all of the work that they do maintaining and protecting Norman's environmental resources and their new one water initiative Michelle welcome to the show thanks Tiffany I'm glad to be here absolutely so let's jump in here so tell us about the doers and when this division officially came to be well I'm glad you asked as you mentioned doers means the division of environmental resilience and sustainability but we wanted a good acronym to describe how we are and we are doers we work out in the field we're trying to protect the environment and we're also trying to educate the public so I felt like it fit and it came into being in April of 23 so we're pretty fresh we're coming up on a year pretty excited because it ties in with the green Norman Eco month and you know how much I love that yes so how many folks are on your team we currently have eight that's right just eight of us to do all of the programs that we have and there are many many programs well yeah tell us a little bit about some of those programs um and and projects that you have in your division thank you for asking I will start by saying that originally we were called environmental services and we were more of a support division uh to other permitted DEQ types of things like the wastewater treatment plant or the water treatment facility those kinds of things we have evolved and now not only do we have the things that Environmental Services had which are the industrial pre-treatment program which helps protect our infrastructure and our employees the fats oil and grease program which keeps those things out of the sewer system so we don't have those nasty overflows um we also have the household hazardous waste facility which I hope everyone has had an opportunity to check out but if you haven't please go online make an appointment call talk to us come out and see it cuz it's an amazing facility and the coordinator is just amazing I agree we also have storm water quality now so that's part of the the addition to our group um storm water quality focuses primarily on protecting our water sheds and our Water Resources um it's important that people know that whatever we do on the ground actually affect fects everything else in our environment everything is interrelated um and we can talk about that a little bit more with the one water uh on top of those direct programs we also are responsible for the resilience and sustainability piece of education and activities within the city so what does that mean well I'm glad you asked let me tell you um what it means is we're responsible for um the solar farms at the water treatment plant and the Water Reclamation facility you hear that guys we have solar Farms here pretty awesome it's super awesome and I would love to show people so absolutely give us a call we'll do a tour um we have things like um nature-based solutions that we want to put in on uh different types of construction projects nature-based Solutions are ways that we can develop areas the way nature would do it I know that sounds a little bit weird but tradition Ally if we look at infrastructure it's gray concrete and curbs and gutters and that kind of thing and when I say nature-based Solutions what I mean are instead of going with concrete and asphalt we put in more vegetative things where water can infiltrate slow down soak in and spread out that kind of thing going from Gray to Green right gray to Green that's it hash Green Norman so you mentioned the one water initiative so tell me a little bit about that I know that I've heard you mention it in some public meetings the idea that you know the water that we have today is all the water we'll ever have so talk a little bit about that and what that means I'm glad you brought that up it's really important and I you're right I've been beating that drum for years um and I'm glad that we're finally coming around the entire country actually the entire world is coming to this one water concept and the reason that it is so important is because typically we separate water into different categories so we might have waste water or we might have storm water or we might have drinking water we might have Industrial Waste Water those kinds of things when in fact there is no separate kind of water it is only one water yes there's waste in the water but that's why we have a Water Reclamation facility we're reclaiming the water removing the waste and reclaiming that water as you know every time in any wastewater treatment facility or Water Reclamation facility after it's been treating the treated the water is then released back into the environment that goes back down stream and it becomes somebody else's drinking water and in fact this cup of water that I have in my hand right here that people can't see you know this is this water has been recycled on the earth over and over and over for billions of years um and I'm going to take a drink of it and it was probably dinosaur pee at one time so you're saying that there's one water and it just may be in a different phase at any given point is that fair I'm saying that yes that's true water is in a different phase at any given point so we can see it as a solid in ice or we can see it as a vapor and clouds Etc um condensation and rain but I'm also saying that waste water itself is not a water type the water is there the waste is in the water so water is just really the water and then whatever pollutants are in it and that's what I mean um all water has pollution in it it can come from actually just raining on the natural environment that's the way it works um it can come from what we do uh in our daily lives um for instance if someone is changing their oil I'll just use this example on their uh driveway and then they might spill some on the cement um well impervious surface does not allow water to soak in so what happens is that water hits the ground it picks up those pollutants oil or let's say pet waste or grass clippings or I could go on and on whatever it is we put on the ground litter Etc it'll pick that up and it goes straight into the nearest water source because storm water is not treated before it goes but again it's just water it's water with contaminants right so you know the example you just use changing your oil it's running off my driveway down the street into a water inlet going back into a stream so we're all in the same cycle here so why is it so important that people really understand and latch on to this one water concept I'm so glad you asked that it is crucially important to understand this concept because we all have to have fresh clean water to drink and we all can do our part to make it so that it's easier to do that with our award-winning Water Treatment Plant awardwinning you hear that you have amazing operators and an amazing water treatment plant manager who really care about providing quality H2O which is water absolutely um shouts to Rachel and all of those hard workers out at our water treatment facility and Steve Harden down at our Water Reclamation facility they are both A+ employees and Superstars absolutely can't say enough good about them um so so what are your future plans as far as spreading the one water message um within your Division and maybe some different things you have going on the horizon we have all kinds of things going on over the horizon absolutely as I mentioned before uh coming up is Green Norman Eco month we typically celebrate that from mid-march to miday I know it's a little longer than a month but I'm a little bit hyperbolic so it deserves more than 30 days I agree I 100% agree so um we have a lot of activities during Green Norman Eco month coming up including cleanup events we have some gardening workshops we have some gardening maintenance we could use volunteers you hear me folks um we also have very excitingly The ewaste Collection event is scheduled now it's on Star Wars day that's right May the 4th May the 4th be with you all everyone out there to be in their Star Wars costumes then you got make you got to make it happen you know what now I'm gonna do it thanks Tiffany I will actually do that thank you for saying that so sure come out and see me in my store Wars costume cuz I will wear one um it's going to go from 9:00 to noon at Reeves Park it'll be a lot of fun uh it it is a lot of fun I know I say that people line up and they stay in their cars and we remove the materials but we're also singing and dancing and having a good time because we're making a difference we love that Earth Day Festival huge fun event that's April 21st it's a Sunday it's also at Reeves Park from noon to 5: um I have a definite confirmation from my costy that he's going to be playing um we're going to have food trucks this year I'm very excited uh so Monarch Festival which is in October every year and we have that at Andrews Park yes this year uh we went lower waist and so I have actually expanded that to Earth Day this year and so we are working toward or just moving a step closer to zero waste for this for this event and that means that all of our food and drink vendors will not be using single-use Plastics or foam instead they'll be using compostable materials and we partnered with a with a company called fertile ground that does composting food waste composting posting uh and things like that so they can help us manage this waste oh my gosh ex very exciting something else on the horizon that I'm very excited about we're going to do a solar initiative here in Norman so what is that well that is actually uh maybe listeners have heard about solarize OKC or solarize Green Country what it is is really a group purchasing program where our residents can come together during a pretty specified Limited time but receed dis deep discounts and um it's based on tiers how many people participate uh and to put in solar panels on their homes so not only will they be helping the environment and reducing climate pollution but they will also be reducing their own electricity bills so that's pretty exciting that is awesome so where are we at in that process so we currently issued an RFP to a request for proposals excuse me I speak in acronyms we issued a request for proposals uh to to partner with a solar installation company we received some answers and now we're going to do interviews next week we should have a company pretty soon can take it to council to get approval so I'm looking right around the beginning of Green Norman Eco month the kickoff all right so that'll fit right into the theme and all of that fun stuff going on and something else coming up I know I'm sorry I've got a lot but um continue we want to hear all about him good because there's a ton uh but we have Lake Thunderbird Watershed is uh impaired it's our drinking water Lake Thunderbird is our drinking water it's our largest source of fresh water we also have well water and we can purchase from Oklahoma City but this is our Lake you know this is we drink this water we drink our storm water that's another reason why I mention one water all the time because we do drink our storm water um but Lake Thunderbird is impaired for nutrients and sedent you know we have alal blooms um luckily our water treatment plant has uh put in a lot of upgrades and you can really taste the difference now when the lake turns over before we might have had a little earthy flavor sometimes to the water but I think earthy flavor I think you know a little earthy but I think um I think everybody can agree that that's actually improved dramatically and that is because of our award-winning water treatment team and facility um but there are things we can do to make that better and part of that is um reducing the amount of nutrients that we put on our so what do I mean by nutrients I mean nitrogen and phosphorus that we would see in fertilizers so taking a soil test and only putting on the amount that's recommended not um maybe using organic fertilizers that kind of thing would help well we have monitoring stations throughout the Watershed because we're required to determine what kind of pollution we're putting into our streams so we can reduce that right right through some of our activities um well we found that the hottest so what does that mean that means the highest nutrient load the hottest area um is in a square mile within the Watershed and so we've uh implemented something called the Blue neighborhood pilot program we kicked off in October November where we were meeting with residents who are excited to to join but it's a partnership with the residents in this area it's a cost share program they are certain best management practices or bmps that's another acronym we use a lot that residents can put in place on their own properties to help our water quality and these practices are compost soil amendments guess what compost can help suck up water and reduce pollution that's running off your lawn from storm water picking it up um you can have compost addition with or without Wild Flower seeding so you could have some wild flowers um we have installation of rain and or pollinator Gardens which help also and then finally um folks could put in rainwater harvesting through either rain barrels or through systemns um So within this one square mile uh we've had quite a bit of interest from the residents so that's exciting uh and we see installation happening again in the spring about the time for Green Norman Eco month so all of these things are coming together at the same time it's very exciting yay and I know that you all also have your very popular rain barrel oh I'm so glad you said that that was another thing I wanted to mention you're absolutely right this is goodness probably the 10th year that we have participated in the central Oklahoma storm water Alliance rain barrel promotion this promotion is where folks in in all the Metro areas can order rain barrels that are made out of repurposed food grade food transport ing barrels so what does that mean it means these barrels were used to transport things like pickles or olives you can see it on the barrel they're often stamped with olive oil or Greek words that kind of thing they're cleaned out they have all the fittings attached and people can purchase them for $ 699 69.50 online they're shipped to our Lindsay yard and people can pick them up during the distribution event which is that first weekend in April right so you're giving those barrels another life which is great reduce reuse recycle ma but always refuse first if you don't need it then don't get it right exactly exactly um and also I think during that sale um there are some other really cool gears and gadgets oh that they can get absolutely to conserve water and help out in the garden and all that good stuff it's upcycle is the name of the company that we partner with and the link is on green.org I I recommend listen ERS always go to green nor.org because I post a lot of stuff on there about things that are coming up just saying um but you can go on there and uh upcycle has they have wide overflow so if you have a lot of rain coming from one gutter it can collect a lot without splashing off they have composting barrels they they can either turn or stationary they have the pieces that go on the gutters to help there's drip hose there are all linkage between the barrels so absolutely oh and they even have some things that you can decorate your barrels with like netting if you want to hang plants on them that kind of thing so C and the best part about all of this is you'll be saving on your water bill right 100% well you know I would say the best part of of all of this is you'll be helping to prevent pollution from getting into our waterways but the second best part is get money on your water bill both both huge benefits win-win I'm always for win-win so is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners right now I know that your team stays busy and stays on the run and you always have lots of really cool things going on so well I would say please keep your eyes open on green nor.org because like you said we have a lot going on and a lot in the works one thing I do want to mention because I'm super proud about it is our learning and environmental advancement facility we call it Leaf that's right I'm all about acronyms um but Leaf is going to be an area we're going to be able to do some demonstrations and some education maybe grow our own plants to use on our own projects you know grow some trees that we can replace ones that we had to take out that kind of thing currently I have five bee hotels a bat house and four beehives as well as a hot and cold composting uh Bin and those were made through workshops with are you also giv tours of those because I might need to to see the 100% come the bat B Motel situation you know I love to show off what we do because we do a lot and I'm proud of it so come on I invite everybody and but the cool thing about this one is that uh we're in the the process of getting a phase two assessment through EPA through their technical help uh program so they'll come out send some workers out this spring again Green Norman Eco month um send some workers out this spring to assess the site and and then DEQ has agreed to accept this into their Brown fill program because Leaf used to be where naturez are set which was a composting facility interesting so it's a Brownfield which means it's an industrial site that now needs to be converted into something more useful and so they're going to come in and we can remove all of the contamination there's some glass and trash still left over from what it used to be but they're going to come in and help us remediate all of that bring in new soil and I'm going to try to bring it back to A Prairie State and then go from there so it's really lot of exciting things coming oh my gosh your world is full of excitement and I love hearing about it Michelle this is awesome thank you for being here in the studio with us today we appreciate your time thank you for having me I'm so excited to share with Norman all of the great things we are doing and also I want to throw a big shout out to our residents because they're part of what makes it happen without their volunteerism without them come into workshops without them caring we wouldn't be able to do any of this that's right I second that so questions or commentary about on West Gray can be sent into public affairs at normanok.gov shouts to our producer and editor Mr Bryce Holland of the city of Norman Communications office visit normanok.gov newws to enroll for E notifications on traffic advisories upcoming events election notices and more follow us on social Facebook Instagram Twitter and YouTube city of Norman okay until next time stay engaged stay informed and always remember to vote I'm Tiffany Vera thank you for tuning into on West Gray
