A revved-up water cycle points to more severe weather

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The water cycle is a term for how water evaporates from the ocean, forms clouds that deliver rain to the land, and how that rain returns to the sea flowing in streams or through the ground.

And now a new study predicts that, because of global warming, the water cycle is going the get a big boost.

The nursery network

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Improve your neighborhood, one scoop at a time.

While politicians dither, you can transform the world.

If you have a little extra space in your yard, plant some native plants.
Then, as they spread, make them available to neighbors for terrace or other improvement projects.

You can establish a native-plant nursery in the greenway or park behind your house--such as in this greenway just W of Westmorland Park.

Shade plants that are low-maintance, and spread

• Ostrich fern-native tall
• Celandine poppy-native medium height
• Sweet woodruff-non-native very low
• Foam flower-native low
• Wild ginger-native very low
• Snakeroot-native  tall

For good design, plant a group of three tall plants, surrounded by lower ones.

For example, ferns and sweet woodruff (white flower) make a dynamite combination!

Sun plants

• Day Lily (there are some dwarf varieties for sidewalk edges)
• Iris

Sun/shade list

An inexpensive way to obtain plants in spring is to search on Craigslist.  Put the search term "plants" into the box, under the "for sale, farm & garden" categories.   Sometimes there are free plant exchanges.  If you don't have a plant to exchange, you can contribute snacks instead.

Philadelphia uses tough love to overhaul its water and sewer system

."When it comes to dealing with water, the ambition of Philadelphia is to change more than its infrastructure. It wants to change its very culture, in a cutting-edge effort to address climate and water issues. But the effort is provoking protests over costs."

Work on Secret Pond reconstrution begins

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Eroded channel of Manitou Creek, a bit upstream of Secret Pond. More photos



Update 6/21:  According to Steve Glass, the project has begun with a misstep.  The project's Chapter 30 permit requires that the heavy equipment coming to the project be clean of soil, to avoid introducing invasive species.  The first bulldozer to arrive was dirty.

Below is a letter sent to residents by Gary A. Brown, Director, Campus Planning and Landscape Architecture:

Groundwater at Odana exceeds standards for salt



The Cogeneration plant on the west side of the UW campus is allowed to withdraw large amounts of water from Lake Mendota, based on a complicated swap agreement with DNR.

That agreement called for an infiltration field at the Odana Hills Golf Course, where up to 60 million gallons a year of stormwater are pumped into the soil.  Background.

One of the problems with this agreement is that the water being pumped into the soil is rather salty, due to overuse of road salt in the area. Several test wells in the area show levels of salt over the Enforcement Standard.  In other words, the groundwater is starting to become polluted with salt.

A trek to Secret Pond

The morning after a storm, three adventurers head into the wetlands of Lake Wingra, looking for the legendary "Secret Pond."

After more than two hours of soggy hiking, Gordon Heingartner said:

"I think my feet are beginning to rot!"

To be continued...

In the meantime, you can see more photos here.