Macatawa Area Coordinating CouncilAugust 2018
Table of Contents
Making the Case for Green Infrastructure
2018 Road Quality
Cleaning Up Our Water
Water Bug Collection
Making the Case for Green Infrastructure
2018 Seminar held at CityFlatshotel in Holland
On August 23, the MACC hosted a green infrastructure seminar at CityFlatsHotel in Holland. The seminar was sponsored by the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, & Huber, Inc. (FTCH), and the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council. This was the second annual Making the Case for Green Infrastructure seminar held in Holland. This year’s program focused on regulations and design standards related to stormwater management. Featured speakers were Claire Schwartz, FTCH, and Dennis Cole, Ottawa County Water Resources Office. They spoke at length about the county’s development rules for stormwater management. The current development rules are being updated and are in the process of being finalized. Updated rules are already active in Muskegon County. Ottawa and Allegan County rules, along with City of Holland rules, will likely become active within the next 6 months. The Counties and City have all been working with Ms. Schwartz to maintain consistency in the rules as well as in the formatting of the documents. Additional topics of discussion at the seminar included municipal stormwater permits and local water quality efforts in the Kalamazoo River, Grand River and Macatawa Watersheds.
2018 Road Quality
Each year the MACC rates pavement conditions within the MACC area with both MDOT and the local road agencies (Allegan County Road Commission, Ottawa County Road Commission, and City of Holland).
Before a new rating season starts, staff is required to attend an annual Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) training. PASER rates roads on a scale from 1 to 10 (1-4 Poor; 5-7 Fair; 8-10 Good). The rating process helps to identify and prioritize future road resurfacing projects.
Click the image to the right to view the map in greater detail. If you want to learn more about how a particular value is given to a roadway, you can review the official manual for asphalt roads or the quick 1-10 cheat-sheet.
