CONTACTS:
Doxie McCoy (EOM) 202.727.9691; [email protected]
Donna Henry (DDOE) 202.299.3338; [email protected]WHAT/WHO:
WHAT/WHO:
Mayor Vincent C. Gray will join officials from the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) President Robin-Eve Jasper, Polinger Development Co. President John Gordon, and Principal Global Investors Senior Acquisitions/Dispostions Manger Jeff Clement to mark the completion of the low-impact-development (LID) facilities at the DDOE headquarters building.
WHEN:
Friday, September 21, 2012
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE:
DDOE Headquarters
1200 First Street NE
BACKGROUND:
In keeping with Mayor Gray’s Sustainable DC vision, DDOE is making its home base Earth-friendly. Coupled with installation of a green roof and future solar cells, the agency has constructed two large bioretention cells (high-performance LID devices which incorporate soil improvements and native plants into a confined space, allowing for treatment and retention of stormwater) along First and M Streets NE. These bioretention cells will capture a considerable amount of runoff from roadways and sidewalks surrounding the 1200 block of 1st Street NE. The water captured can either be sequestered by plants found within the cells, treated via filtration through the soil media within the cell and eventually emptied into the local combined sewer system, or detained and allowed to infiltrate into local groundwater. Practices such as these will enable the District to reduce pollution from reaching its local waterways. The total size of these bioretention cells is 2,877 square feet.
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