Water Quality Forum

Wake County's Community Success- Partnerships for Water Quality Forum will be held Tuesday, September 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at 111 Place, on Realtors Way in Cary. This is the second forum sponsored by the Wake County Environmental Services Committee.

Speakers at the forum will focus on implementing Wake County's Watershed Management Plan and address how businesses, government and residents can work together to improve water quality in Wake County.

Among the featured speakers, Charles Hayes of the Greater Triangle Regional Council will give an overview of the dynamics of growth in the community; Wake County Commissioner Kenn Gardner will show how Wake County government has responded to the challenges presented by this growth through its Growth and Environmental Initiatives, focusing on the Watershed Management Plan; Mike Schmidt of CDM will make a presentation on a systems approach to moderating the impact of increased impervious surfaces on stormwater volume, including low-impact development; and Chuck Flink of Greenways, Inc., will talk about conservation subdivisions as one way to moderate the impact of development on stormwater runoff volume.

A panel discussion will include a presentation by Lisa Martin of the N.C. Homebuilders' Association, who will show examples from various developments to illustrate how development regulations can discourage innovative design. Commissioner Kenn Gardner will show how Sacramento, Calif., made an amenity out of the American River and how those lessons learned could be applied to the land between Lakes Benson and Wheeler. Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones and Sig Hutchinson of the Wake Open Space Advisory Committee will also be on the panel.

Register online at: http://www.wakegov.com/communitysuccess. The registration fee is $10 and it includes lunch. For more information, contact Mike Jennings at 856-7447 or email him at mjennings@co.wake.nc.us.