City Of Peoria: Peoria Partnership Benefits Stormwater Utility

Press release from the City of Peoria:

June 17, 2021

The Mayor’s Youth Program is making strides in the community this summer with a newfound partnership with Peoria County. The week of Monday, June 14 more than a dozen student workers planted an abundance of stormwater filtering plants outside the Peoria County Courthouse. And they now have plans to plant many others outside Peoria City Hall.

With this year’s program focusing on “going green,” the students are not wasting any time supporting that mission. They have been learning how their gardening and other work positively supports Peoria’s stormwater utility and in turn helps our waterways. 
 
“Landscaping is a visually appealing and functional way to soak in the stormwater before it runs off into storm drains,” said City Engineer, Andrea Klopfenstein. “Deep rooted plants such as prairie grass can help absorb, filter, and reduce runoff.”

An additional benefit is that plants and trees can also help to absorb and filter out pollutants – keeping many of these toxins from making it into our waterways. But planting and learning about how to best filter stormwater is not all the students are working on. They’re also picking up litter, removing debris in and around storm sewers, plucking weeds and laying mulch – work that also keeps soil and litter from reaching our storm sewers. 
 
The eight-week program is set to end with a closing ceremony on Friday, June 30. Until then, keep an eye out for our summer workers in your neighborhood. Learn more about the Mayor’s Youth Program here: peoriagov.org/public-works/public-works-programs/mayors-youth-program/. 

This press release was produced by City of Peoria. The views expressed here are the author’s own.