What You Can Do

Best Management Practice Examples

During construction:

Plan new construction away from streams and wetland areas. Minimize paved areas.

Maximize erosion control to minimize need for sediment control by using Best Management Practices..

Trap all sediment on site. Leave a vegetative buffer between the construction site and any stream or water supply. Use Best Management Practices like sediment fences, geotextiles and sediment control basins.

Slow down water runoff.

Vegetate and mulch as quickly as possible. Use as many native plants as possible.

Inspect and maintain all BMP’s.

Anytime:

Build a rain garden to slow water runoff and filter out pollutants.

Apply lawn and garden chemicals sparingly and according to directions. Use beneficial insects and Integrated Pest Management.

Dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints and other household chemicals properly, not in storm sewers and drains.

Clean up spilled brake fluid, oil, grease & antifreeze. Do not hose them into the street where they can eventually reach streams.

Control soil erosion on your property by planting ground cover and stabilizing erosion-prone areas.

Encourage local government officials to develop construction erosion/sediment and water runoff control ordinances in your community.

Purchase household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorus to reduce the amount of nutrients discharged into streams and lakes.

Redirect downspouts to vegetated areas.

Select landscape plants that are well adapted to your site and soils.

Mow your grass high (at least 2 1/2" to 3").

Use slow release forms of fertilizer and use only the amounts needed based on soil tests.

Wash cars on gravel lots or the lawn so water can filtrate through the soil and not runoff directly into a storm sewer.Pick up litter, leaves and debris. Recycle leaves and grass clippings. Do not dump leaves or clippings along streams or in the street.

Install a rain barrel to catch roof water runoff.

More Information

Native Plant Species

Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)	Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica)
Common Water Plantain (Alisma subcordatum)	Common Rush (Juncus effusus)
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)	Torrey's Rush (Juncus torreyi)
Smooth Blue Aster (Aster laevis)	Rice Cut Grass (Leersia oryzoides)
Panicled Aster (Aster lanceolatus)	Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)	Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum)
Nodding Beggarsticks (Bidens cernua)	Purple Prairie Clover (Petalostemum purpureum)
Common Beggarsticks (Bidens frondosa)	Water Smartweed (Polygonum amphibium)
Side-Oats Gramma (Bouteloua curtipendula)	Common Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Blue Joint Grass (Calamagrostis canadensis)	Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
Bristly Sedge (Carex comosa)	Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Crested Oval Sedge (Carex cristatella)	Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
Pale Sedge (Carex granularis)	Yellow Cone Flower (Ratibida pinnata)
Wooly Sedge (Carex lanuginosa)	Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Awl-Fruited Sedge (Carex stipata)	Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria larifolia)
Fox Sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)	Peachleaf Willow (Salix amygdaloides)
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)	Black Willow (Salix nigra)
Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)	Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Tall Coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris)	River Bulrush (Scirpus fluviatillis)
Gray Dogwood (Comus racemosa)	Soft-stem Bulrush (Scirpus tabernaemontani)
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)	Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum)
Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)	Prairie Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum)
Blunt Spike Rush (Eleocharis obtusa)	Late Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)
Creeping Spike Rush (Eleocharis smalli)	Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
Nodding Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis)	Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
Virginia Wild Rye (Elymus virginicus)	Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
Spotted Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum)	Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)	Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)	Common Iron Weed (Vernonia fasciculata)
Fowl Manna Grass (Glyceria striata)	Arrow Wood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum lucidum)
Common Sneeze Weed (Helenium autumnale)	Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)

More information

Geotextiles

Geotextiles consist of synthetic fibers made into a flexible, porous fabric either by weaving or matting together in a non-woven manner. There are at least 80 specific uses for geotextiles, but the fabric always performs at least one of five functions:

Moisture barrier – for example liners for waste liquids

Drainage – for example as a drain for roof gardens

Infiltration – for example as a silt fence

Reinforcement – for example to aid in construction of steep slopes

Separation – for example between soil and gravel in unpaved roads

There are many forms of geotextiles that can be used to improve water quality during construction or after construction in urban areas.

Listed below are web sites with information you may find useful in planning and applying Best Management Practices.

Illinois Urban Manual – information on all best management practices including site suitability, standards and specifications and engineering drawings.	http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/engineer/urban/
Rains Gardens – planning, design and plantings	www.raingardens.org http://raingarden.il.gov/
Water Quality Fact Sheets	http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/facts/
Native Plants USDA – NRCS Illinois Natural History Survey	http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/my_home.COFT.html
Lake County Stormwater Commission – Best Management Practices	http://www.co.lake.il.us/smc/bmp/
Rain Barrels Superior, Wisconsin Low Impact Development Center	http://www.ci.superior.wi.us/publicwks/wastewater/RainBarrels.htm http://www.lid-stormwater.net/raincist/raincist_construct.htm
Composting – HYDRA University of Minnesota	http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.htm http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3296.html
Home A*Syst: An Environmental Risk-Assessment Guide for the Home	http://www.uwex.edu/homeasyst/ Information & workbooks are available at your local Soil & Water Conservation District Office or University Extension Office
Geotextiles – Drexel University Also see Illinois Urban Manual	http://www.drexel.edu/gri/geomat.html http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/engineer/urban/

There are many other Best Management Practices used during and after construction. This booklet only addresses those practices relating to water quality. For more Best Management Practices, visit the USDA-NRCS Iowa web site. at ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/IA/news/UrbanBrochure.pdf.

Credits & Sources

Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities: www.iamu.org

USDA–NRCS Montana State Office: www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov

USDA–NRCS Illinois State Office: www.il.nrcs.usda.gov

US Army Corps of Engineers: www.lrc.usace.army.mil

Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council: www.mapc.gov

ToolBase Services: www.toolbase.org

Low Impact Development Center: www.lid-stormwater.net

US Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov

Illinois Natural History Survey: www.inhs.uiuc.edu

Rain Gardens of West Michigan: www.raingardens.org

University of Wisconsin Extension: http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/

Center for Watershed Protections: www.cwp.org

Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Conservation Strategies for Growing Communities" – 2004

Fairfax County: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/

Native Plant Guide for Streams and Stormwater Facilities in Northeastern Illinois, Prepared by USDA-NRCS Chicago Metro Urban Community Assistance Office in cooperation with USEPA Region 5, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Chicago Field Office, US Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District, December 1997 (Revised May, 2004).

Drexel University: http://www.drexel.edu/gri/geomat.html

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