Smart growth, greening of a city

Photo by Clint Confehr Downtown Lewisburg as seen from the locally-based Air-Evac helicopter ambulance can be seen as a broad area that's mostly paved or covered by roof tops. Stormwater management includes ways to reduce the rush of water that can erode other areas and some filtration to remove grit and petroleum product residue that pollutes waterways and kills aquatic life.

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"Federal people were there from Washington to help us," Lewisburg Stormwater Director Robert L. "R.L." Williams said recently during a lengthy interview at his new office in the historic Ladies Restroom building. "They wanted to know if we were involved in smart growth."

"Smart growth," according to Williams, is a development trend that acknowledges realities in the environment.

Principles of smart growth range from building homes closer together so pipes are shorter, and therefore less expensive, to laying out a subdivision based on the topography to avoid stormwater drainage problems.

See the complete story in Friday's Tribune.