MTSU Stormwater Program

MTSU is co-permitting with the City of Murfreesboro for their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) MS4 Permit. This permit is required by the Tennessee Department of Conservation as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Middle Tennessee State University is located at 1301 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132-0001 in Rutherford County. Campus spans mainly from Middle Tennessee Blvd., to Greenland Dr., to Rutherford Blvd. and finally to E.Main Street.

The primary goal of this MS4 is to improve the quality of surface waters by reducing the amount of pollutants in the runoff water. Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), from which it is often discharged untreated into local waterbodies. To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into an MS4, operators must obtain a NPDES permit and develop a stormwater management program.

Phase II requires regulated small MS4s in urbanized areas, as well as small MS4s outside the urbanized areas that are designated by the permitting authority, to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. 


Volunteers Needed!

Volunteers needed!  Do you or your group need service hours?

Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation & Outdoor Murfreesboro Natural Resources (OMNR) have many monthly volunteer opportunities throughout Murfreesboro.  For more information or to sign up, please visit:  https://www.signupgenius.com/tabs/13574db04a2c8e5c3a09-omvolunteering. 

Visit our page at myMT for our event calendar & news!


H2O Distance Learning Pod

Calling all students, parents and teachers!!!

Visit the new H2O Distance Learning Pod to learn more about the great careers in the water industry, learn how water effects everything around us, and have some fun with a bunch of water activities you can do at home!  The H2O Distance Learning Pod is a collaborative effort by the Murfreesboro Water Resources Department’s Community Affairs (MWRDCA), Rutherford County Stormwater Project WET (Project WET), and the Stones River Watershed Association (SRWA) as a derivative learning tool for Waterfest 2020: an outdoor, all-inclusive learning event for students to explore and engage in everything WATER from water quality, stormwater, aquatic life, water pollution, water safety, and so much more.

Waterfest gains a collaborative funding from stormwater managers of various organizations and departments in Rutherford County. The event usually hosts around 60 classrooms from County, City, and local private schools, with over 40 booths on water education and awareness, but due to COVID-19 Waterfest 2020 was cancelled, leaving educators and students searching for an outlet. An online resolution was birthed at the great will of Project WET Coordinator, Bonnie Irvin, with help from local teachers and experts in the water industry as they developed a plan to create a virtual Waterfest experience! Although live demonstrations were postponed, this group of individuals compiled a multimedia experience for students to enjoy and learn about all things water from the comfort and safety of their homes. However, the virtual Waterfest needed an all-access landing page and MWRDCA was proud to share space on their site for a new H2O Distance Learning Pod!

Each lesson in the H2O Distance Learning Pod is a fun and enlightening learning tool that will both engage students and meet curriculum standards for teachers. There is so much to learn about water as it plays an important part in every corner of our lives from health and hyenine to recreation and nature.  We hope that students, parents, and teachers find great pleasure in this new, contact-less method of engagement and learning with water!

Visit The H2O Distance Learning Pod at www.murfreesborotn.gov/DistanceLearningPod

With the new H2O Distance Learning Pod, our hopes are to engage students like never before on the world of water and the value it has on our everyday lives. Like water, teachers are essential in our world and they guide the minds that will impact water for future generations to come. Visit the H2O Distance Learning Pod here: www.murfreesborotn.gov/DistanceLearningPod. #WaterForTheFuture #H2OLearningPod #DistanceLearning #MWRDCAKids

 


 

Looking for activities to do with your family?   Get started and become a Citizen Scientist! Your eyes and ears are used to explore the outside and your reports are recorded as information in very large studies. Fireflies, Frogs, Birds, Trees, Bees, and others - choose one or two and have a great time.  Some great sites to visit:
 

https://inaturalist.org : One of the world’s most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 750,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature!  What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. Use your phone or table/computer as the platform for discovery and reporting.

https://journeynorth.org : Welcome to Journey North. Report Sightings · View Maps · Hummingbirds · Monarch Butterfly Migration Monarch Butterflies · American Robins · Our Community. 

BugGuide.net : An online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.

The Great Sunflower Project :The Great Sunflower Project encourages people from all over the United States to collect data on pollinators in their yards, gardens, schools and parks. Collect visitation rates of pollinators to all plants (but especially sunflowers!), Detailed information on pollinator identification and ecology.

North American Butterfly Association : With many count circles across the nation, including Tennessee, NABA participates in many local butterfly count days and other citizen science efforts throughout the year.

Monarch Joint Venture :  To understand the monarch migration, we rely on the help of citizen scientists to collect data during all phases of the annual life cycle of monarch breeding, migrating, and overwintering.  While measuring and studying overwintering colonies may give us the best estimate of population size, it is important to gain insight into breeding population trends and factors influencing the migration within the U.S. The Joint Venture includes the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project , a project designed to better understand the distribution and abundance of breeding monarchs and to use that knowledge to inform and inspire monarch conservation. 

Migratory Dragonfly Partnership : THERE are so many different species of dragonflies and who knew they migrated!  To better understand and conserve North America's dragonfly migration, dragonfly experts, nongovernmental programs, academic institutions, and federal agencies from the United States, Mexico, and Canada have formed the collaborative Migratory Dragonfly Partnership (MDP).Regular monitoring and centralized reporting among participants across three nations will help us answer some of the many questions currently surrounding dragonfly migration and provide information needed to create cross-border conservation programs to protect and sustain the phenomenon. 

Dragonfly Pond Watch :   An effort of the Migratory Dragonfly Partnership, Dragonfly Pond Watch is a volunteer-based program of the Migratory Dragonfly Partnership(MDP) to investigate the annual movements of five major migratory dragonfly species in North America: Common Green Darner (Anax junius), Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea), and Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum). By visiting the same wetland or pond site on a regular basis, participants will be placed to note the arrival of migrant dragonflies moving south in the fall or north in the spring, as well as to record when the first resident adults of these species emerge in the spring.

Firefly Watch :  Firefly Watch combines an annual summer evening ritual with scientific research. Join a network of citizen scientists around the country by observing your own backyard, and help scientists map fireflies.

Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program :  The Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program (TAMP) is a volunteer-based, multi-agency effort to assess the current status of amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders) across our state, with the goal of learning where they live and how they are doing.

FrogWatch :  FrogWatch USA is a citizen science program and provides individuals, groups, and families opportunities to learn about wetlands in their communities by reporting on the calls of local frogs and toads.

ebird :  eBird began with a simple idea—that every birdwatcher has unique knowledge and experience.  Our goal is to gather this information in the form of checklists of birds, archive it, and freely share it to power new data-driven approaches to science, conservation and education. At the same time, we develop tools that make birding more rewarding. From being able to manage lists, photos and audio recordings, to seeing real-time maps of species distribution, to alerts that let you know when species have been seen, we strive to provide the most current and useful information to the birding community.

Project FeederWatch :  Project FeederWatch turns your love of feeding birds into scientific discoveries. FeederWatch is a winter-long (November-April) survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. Participants periodically count the birds they see at their feeders and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. FOR the Fall, Winter and Spring seasons. 

Tennessee Ornithological Society :  TOS is an independent non-profit with many chapters across the state. Chapter members participate in bird studies, national bird counts, and other citizen science projects including Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count and The Great Backyard Bird Count.


Tree Day

What is a Bioswale?

The Cumberland River Compact has been working with Antioch Middle School to treat their stormwater and protect

Mill Creek. Check out their video to learn more about the project and see if it could be used for your area too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhQwRdQAeg&t=111s&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fd31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net%2F20200428%2Ffa%2F5a%2Fcb%2F98%2F94b777d6c0467c9949aae43d_1220x686.jpg&utm_campaign=MLS+planting


Needing some family activities for this summer? Get started and become a Citizen Scientist!  Your eyes and ears are used to explore the outside and your reports are recorded as information in very large studies. Fireflies, Frogs, Birds, Trees, Bees, and others - choose one or two and have a great time. Your time is valuable; your results are very much appreciated.