Citizens picket dirty construction site in Madison

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On Monday, July 15, starting at 8:00 am, Steve Vanko and about 11 neighbors on Monona Bay, and other people concerned about Madison’s lakes, picketed for nearly two hours at 1102 South Park Street.

Mary Jo Ola of WISC-TV interviews Steve Vanko

They wanted to call attention to repeated pollution of Monona Bay, from the Ghidorzi Companies construction site, where they are picketing.  They feel that response from officials--to 13 sediment spills--has been ineffective.

Amazing regulatory failure--Monona Bay polluted 13 times by Ghidorzi

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This is a summary of the sediment spills into Monona Bay by construction at 1102 S. Park St., by the Ghidorzi Companies.

The demolition and construction progressed from May of 2012 to July of 2013. During that time, Steve Vanko and David Thompson documented--with the photos shown below--13 sediment spills to the bay, and one extreme dust incident.

These spills were the result of failure to follow many elements of the required erosion control plan, which we'll document elsewhere.

Since 1102 S. Park Street has contaminated soil,* and because soil particles carry phosphorus, muddy runoff from the site is real pollution.

Chip sealing--and how dust affects our lakes

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Today, most concerns about air pollution focus on global warming.  Yet for those of us working for the health of our lakes, air pollution remains an important issue.

Sustainability at the UW in Madison

When I attended the recent New Urbanism conference at Monona Terrace on June 4, the UW had a display there, boasting about its sustainability. 

That was a new one for me... so I decided to look into it.

Glacier under Mt. Walker survives into June

Mt. Walker hides a remnant of ice, under a mantle of garbage.



Question: Where can you still find winter ice in Madison?

Answer: Under scenic Mt. Walker, on the west end of Campus.

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:

It's getting harder to find sites for new city wells

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During a recent exploration of unseen Madison spots, I had a chance to find out how hard it is to protect groundwater and find new well sites.

As Madison grows, we need more wells. As more areas become contaminated, wells have to be abandoned, and there are fewer places where you can put a new well.

Exploring an old landfill--now home to Terra

Early last spring, when I found myself on the east side of town, I decided to explore the woods by the state offices at the end of Agriculture Rd.

There was a nice path, but I quickly came to a huge dump.  Part of it was capped (imperfectly), and part was still receiving construction debris and snow removed from parking lots.

Salvaged concrete blocks were piled into mountains.