Biennial Event Educates Municipalities, Contractors on Runoff Management, Water Quality

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz will give opening remarks at the 2014 Western New York Stormwater Conference and Tradeshow on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. The daylong event provides an educational opportunity for municipalities, consultants, and contractors to learn innovative and state-of-the-art strategies to better manage stormwater runoff, protect water quality and meet regulatory requirements. Non-point source pollution, the result of improperly managed runoff, negatively impacts our water resources and is the most significant source of pollution affecting water quality in the Great Lakes.

“As I said in my ‘Initiatives for a Smart Economy’, our water resources are a vital part of our economy and must be protected and preserved. Proper stormwater management is a key component in preventing harmful pollutants from entering our waterways and can also help to retain valuable water for other purposes,” said Poloncarz. “We are the stewards of our environmental resources, and if we are to pass on a cleaner Lake Erie to the next generation, stormwater management is essential. I encourage all interested residents to join the conference and discover ways that they can make a difference in protecting our water resources.”

The WNY Stormwater Conference is sponsored by the Erie County Department of Environment & Planning in partnership with the WNY Stormwater Coalition. This year’s conference will feature Matthew Millea, Deputy County Executive for Onondaga County, who will be speaking on Onondaga County’s “Save the Rain” program, the keystone of green infrastructure for the Syracuse metropolitan area.  Other speakers will discuss their work on local and state-wide municipal green infrastructure projects, funding opportunities, and matters concerning municipal stormwater permit compliance.  In addition, there will be 30 vendors exhibiting a variety of products and services to assist participants in better managing their stormwater programs and systems.

The conference runs from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on March 19^th. Registration materials are online at www.erie.gov/stormwater or call 716-858-7583. Walk in registrants are welcome.

The Western New York Stormwater Coalition is a collaboration of 39 municipalities in Erie and Niagara Counties that manage storm sewer systems that are regulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).  Over the past 12 years, the Coalition has worked together to improve the management of stormwater throughout the region. A key initiative of this partnership is an ongoing campaign to educate and engage the public in understanding how they impact stormwater runoff and actions they can perform to help improve and protect the quality of water in our rivers lakes and streams.