A new cistern was installed in early November 2013, outside the Lancaster Brewing Company along E Walnut Street.  It becomes part of a green infrastructure site that also includes permeable paving and bio-retention / rain garden’s.

Known as ‘Lancaster’s Gateway Bundle’ the cistern, not only collects and holds 750 gallons from the Brewery roof, but is also a public art project meant to engage and educate patrons and people passing by.

(The image on the left was taken during installation; The image on the right is after installation with the permeable brick pavers on the left and rain gardens on the right)

Green Infrastructure is becoming, almost, common place in neighborhoods throughout Lancaster City, with dozens of projects slated to begin in the coming months.  Two projects of particular significance this fall include the construction taking place along private Alley 117 in NW Lancaster City and construction that has just begun at Two Dudes Painting Company located in the Cabbage Hill Neighborhood of the SW.  (Click the links above to learn more).

These earth moving machines will soon give way to permeable paving and other Green Infrastructure technologies that will capture close to 500,000 gallons annually between these two projects.
   

“Dancing Arches”, a Public Art sculpture, invites guests– with a burst of color and form– to enter the newly renovated Rodney Park.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tracybeyl/dancing-arches-at-rodney-park

Utilzing rain barrels, rain gardens, dry wells, native plants, and green roofs to capture rain water on your residential property.  Learn more by viewing this video

Drip goes the kitchen faucet. Plop goes the bathroom shower. Trickle goes the toilet tank.

It’s annoying, but you’ve learned to live with it.

Then the water bill arrives. Talk about sticker shock. It turns out those little drips, plops and trickles are costing you money. Which means you need to do something about it.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/839877_Slow-leaks-can-drain-your-wallet.html#ixzz2RPphzNe0

We’re Polluting our Water.

When it rains, water flows from rooftops, streets, sidewalks and parking lots into our sewer system.  Along the way, it picks up all kinds of pollutants.  Most of the time, the City can clean this polluted water at its treatment plant.  But during heavy storms, the amount of water is too much for the plant to handle, allowing about 750 million gallons of polluted water to flow into the Conestoga River each year.

What’s the Cheapest Way to Solve the Problem ?

Come to a meeting with Mayor Gray and city officials in your neighborhood.

March 28 – Hand Middle School
April 2 – Lancaster Rec Center – Senior Center off parking lot at Brandon Park
April 10 – Reynolds Middle School
April 16 – McCaskey East High School
May 2 – Community United Methodist Church – Tennyson Drive

All meetings start at 7pm

Over the course of the next year more green ‘vegetative’ roofs will be installed throughout Lancaster City.  Over the past month three green roofs were installed on City owned properties including Fire Station #3 and the Dewatering Building at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is pictured below.

Enhancements include a kids pool at Rodney Park and basketball court at Crystal Park, these amenities along with open green space and kid play areas are much needed.  In addition, green infrastructure improvements make these model project for the future of Lancaster City.  For more information and photos click here.