Living lightly--Halley research station

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In Madison, erosion from construction sites is responsible for 19% of the phosphorus in our lakes.  Construction is a major cause of Madison's poor air quality.

Nationwide, a recent study shows the industry causes $14.7 billion in economic damage a year.*  Those costs are paid by all of us.

So there's a need to find greener construction techniques--to build and live lightly on the land.

Credit: British Antarctic Survey

Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica is a striking example of what's possible.  The buildings were built from prefabricated modules, placed on legs above the ice.

Construction at the Edgewater, Jan. 29, 2013

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On January 29, temperatures reached 54 F, with rainfall of 1.84 inches. Findorff Contruction wasn't prepared for the rain.
 

There was a sediment spill to Lake Mendota.

Construction at the Edgewater, Jan. 19, 2013

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View from the top.

View from the lake. 

A gap in the silt fence along the lakeshore, plus construction dirt spilling over into the lake.

Photos were taken on a Saturday, when temperatures were about 38 degrees.  I wanted to see if there was enough meltwater to cause erosion of sediment into the lake. Water erosion wasn't evident.

But when snow was cleared, a lot of dirt got mixed with the snow, which was dumped outside the sediment fence.  So some dirt is getting into the lake.