Potomac International Urban Watershed Management Exchange

Potomac International Urban Watershed Management Exchange


















Introduction
On January 28, 2002 the German Embassy in Washington, DC will host a day-long forum and reception to share the results of a two-year collaborative “International Watershed Management Exchange” effort between the US and Germany. Public and private leaders from the metropolitan Washington region, including various US-based organizations serving Germany, will listen to presentations by a team of leaders from the Potomac who visited Germany about watershed Restoration and Reconstruction, Urban Watershed Retrofit Strategies, and Large Scale Redevelopment. In addition the program will include feature presentations by German experts Herbert Dreiseitl, sculptor, artist and interdisciplinary planner of Atelier Dreiseitl, Uberlingen, Germany; Michael Packshies, City Planner, Eckernforde, Germany
and Katrin Scholz-Barth of HOK in Washington, DC, on innovative approaches to the management, conservation, use and celebration of water. The team members and experts will share their ideas on how lessons learned from Germany may be used to solve important stormwater management and water supply problems, regenerate natural values, and encourage public-private partnerships in the Potomac River watershed.

In addition, G. Mark Gibb, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission will make a presentation about his partnership with Stuttgart, Germany.


Background
The International Watershed Management Exchange is sponsored by the USEPA, HUD, NPS, and the Glynwood Center, and is intended to:

· Create opportunities for professional development of U.S.
urban watershed, park, open space, and recreation management
practitioners;

· Share technical information between NPS staff and various park and program partners, regarding the application of best practices in the U.S. context. For the following objectives, including but not limited to:

The development and benefits of green infrastructure;

Ecologic and economic regeneration of rivers, streams and
waterfronts;

Defining and reinforcing environmentally sensitive
development patterns;

The critical nature of determined leadership at the local
level;

The power of small projects to reinforce overall policy
themes; and

Integrating innovative approaches to stormwater and waste water management into new development.

· Present the public and government officials with accurate informative, educational and understandable information on the urban watershed best management practices.

· Encourage collaboration and coordination among federal, state and local government agencies in order to minimize inconsistency and duplication, to reduce or eliminate conflicting priorities and programs and to achieve more efficient use of public funds.

· Further facilitate cooperation with communities in the Potomac River watershed to work cooperatively with state and federal government agencies and the private
sector.