Sumter Stormwater Solutions Meeting Agenda
Monday, July 27, 2015
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM North Hope Center
904 North Main St Sumter, SC 29150
Meeting Facilitator: Breann Liebermann, Clemson Carolina Clear
10:00 – 10:20 Recent Events
10:20 – 10:30 Upcoming Events
10:30 – 11:00 Dillon Park Rain Garden Installation
11:00 – 11:10 Erosion Control Workshop
11:10 – 11:20 Carolina Clear Updates
11:20 – 12:00 New Program Ideas
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Notes from the Meeting
Attendance:
Name
Breann Liebermann
Katie Buckley
Teige Elliot
Alfred Conyers
Reggie Felder
John Geddings
Jenna Brown
Organization
Carolina Clear
Carolina Clear
City of Sumter
Sumter County
Sumter County
Sumter County
COG
Minutes:
Recent Events
The meeting started with a review of recent activities:
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Appeared on Making it Grow 4/21, 5/19, 6/9
Earth Day talk at Ebenezer Middle School 4/22
Dillon Dog Park Grand Opening 5/18
FOG outreach at Iris Festival 5/21
Patriot Park maintenance day 5/28
Rain barrel workshop 6/25
4-H2O Camp 7/14-7/16
Enviroscape at 4-H Camp 7/21
Shot Pouch Creek cleanup on kayaks 7/25
E-news started back up
Upcoming Events
Upcoming events are as follows:
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Appearing on Making it Grow 7/28 (Teige suggested to make the water quality tip
about grass clippings)
Kiwanis Club presentation 8/19
Rain barrel sale (Richland County) 9/12 (the group thought that there would be
enough interest in Sumter for a rain barrel sale, especially if SSS bought ~20
barrels to keep on hand for installations in public places like churches or schools)
Bug scavenger hunt at Congaree National Park TBD
Storm drain marking with Cub Scouts TBD (suggest to them they mark storm
drains in Sumter County, not Clarendon)
Watershed and waterbody signs PENDING (Katie will ask DOT if City or County
provided labor for installation, would DOT be willing to print the signs)
Dillon Park Rain Garden Installation
Breann told the group that the rain garden at Dillon Park will be installed from
Wednesday, September 16- Saturday, September 19. Chuck Jarman will come out to help
with the installation from Wednesday through Friday. Alfred will contact Chuck about
getting materials from BC Mulch & More. We will put in the plantings on Saturday.
Breann will contact Master Gardeners, Garden Clubs, and advertise online and in the
item to recruit volunteers to help plant. Breann will give an informal presentation on rain
gardens. Volunteers will receive a rain garden starter kit: a reusable tote bag with the SSS
logo, a rain garden manual, a seed packet, a bag of compost, and a rain gauge. We will
not charge for this informal workshop.
The group also discussed offering a rain garden technical workshop, and whether it
would be highly attended if it were offered in Sumter, or if it should be offered in
Columbia. Alfred mentioned there are only a few engineering firms in Sumter. The group
concluded that professionals based in Sumter would not mind traveling to Columbia for a
1-day workshop, and that it would be best to hold it in Columbia. Breann will follow up
with Karen Jackson, Water Resources Agent for Richland County, about partnering for a
workshop.
Erosion Control Workshop
Breann informed the group that Carolina Clear is developing a 1-day technical training
on erosion control practices, and Katie mentioned that this is an area of need across the
state. It will most likely be held in Columbia. The workshop will be a classroom-based
workshop using videos and samples to showcase practices. If anyone has video footage of
a particular practice being installed or used, please let Breann know. Breann outlined the
agenda:
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BMP overview
Establishing vegetative cover
BMP case studies
Post construction options
Dan mentioned that we should also cover why erosion control is necessary in the first
place. Katie mentioned that 6-8 PDHs will be offered. We should partner with the IECA
(International Erosion Control Association) and the Soil Conservation District.
Carolina Clear Updates
Breann explained to the group that Carolina Clear has developed a Master Pond Manager
Course that is a hybrid online and in person course. The pilot version of the course was
held in the spring, and a second offering of the course will be held this fall.
Katie explained that Carolina Clear has launched a stormwater pond initiative, which has
included creating a stormwater pond commercial. The group watched the Midlands
version of the commercial.
New Program Ideas
Green Business Program
Breann mentioned that the group had previously discussed starting a Green Business
program in Sumter targeting FOG best practices. Because chain restaurants usually have
to get any educational materials they display approved by their corporate offices, it may
be better to target local restaurants first. There are only 8 or 9 local restaurants, most
likely. Teige mentioned that the city has a sewer database, and we could look to that to
gather data on restaurants and locations. The group discussed offering a better wastewater
rate or a credit for restaurants that abide by proper FOG management practices, however,
this might not be feasible. The County offers an impervious surface credit for stormwater
fees for commercial properties that greatly reduce their amount of impervious area. The
City sewer division folks could give FOG materials out during their maintenance or
inspections at restaurants.
Native plants garden
Breann proposed Claudia’s idea of starting up a native plants garden, propagating native
plants, and using them in our rain gardens and vegetated shorelines to save money. The
garden could be installed at the Central Carolina Tech’s Natural Resources Management
Center. Breann will further discuss this idea with Claudia and Josh.
Storm Drain Artwork
Breann proposed the idea of having artists in Sumter create storm drain artwork. This
involves painting an eye-catching design around a storm drain, and usually embedding a
message that lets people know the water drains to local waterways. Non-toxic paint that
fades in about a month is used. Katie brought up that the artwork could be centered
around one of Sumter’s themes such as irises or swans. The group mentioned that the best
location to do this artwork would be downtown. Jenna is a member of the Sumter Artist’s
Guild, and thought that group may be interested in this project. Breann will follow up
with her.
Speaker Series
Breann proposed that we host another speaker series. A 4-part backyard gardening series
was held in 2012 and in 2014. Amanda McNulty’s talk in 2012 was widely attended.
Attendance in the 2014 series was lower (5-8 people per talk). John Geddings thought
that attendance would be higher if a local celebrity gave the talk (such as Amanda
McNulty). Topics could include permeable pavement, water conservation in landscapes,
intro gardening, pest management, lawn chemicals, turf management, and turf
alternatives. Jenna mentioned that Claudia taught a 6-week landscape design series
through the Sumter County Gallery of Art, and that we could host the speaker series
through the Gallery of Art.
The meeting concluded at 11:45pm. The next meeting will be held in October.