NEWS RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA

January 23, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH TO HOST STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND URBAN GARDENING SEMINAR

JEFFERSON, LA – Thanks to funding provided by a sub-grant from the UNO Research and Technology Foundation, the Jefferson Parish Department of Environmental Affairs will be hosting an in-person seminar to help educate individual citizens, businesses and industries on stormwater management and urban gardening.

The seminar will be on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the Joseph S. Yenni Building 2nd Floor Council Chambers (1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Jefferson, LA 70123). This seminar will provide attendees with an overview of the storm water collection system in Jefferson Parish, along with best management practices for utilizing urban space for the beneficial use of storm water and soil for gardening and agriculture. Local industry leaders will speak on topics such: Urban Stormwater Management, Benefits of Urban Gardening for the Stormwater System, Household Chemicals for Gardening, Water and Energy Conservation, Transforming Food Deserts, Controlling Pests and Composting.

The seminar will be open to the public and live streamed on JPTV (Channel 6 on Cox and Channel 99 on AT&T), Jefferson Parish Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/JeffersonParishGov and Jefferson Parish website at www.Jeffparish.tv/live

The Jefferson Parish Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) consists of over 1,400 miles of subsurface drainpipes and over 300 miles of open canals and ditches. Storm water runoff from residential, commercial and industrial land areas can collect oil, grease, litter, hazardous wastes, sediment and other pollutants, which can pollute surrounding waterbodies such as Lake Pontchartrain. Environmental Affairs investigates hundreds of complaints of illegal discharges to the drainage system each year.

For more information about the seminar or MS4, contact Sami Khalil with the Department of Environmental Affairs at 504-731-4612.

For more information about Jefferson Parish, visit www.JeffParish.net Residents can also receive regular updates by following the Parish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@JeffParishGov).

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Jefferson Parish Public Information Office 1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite 1002 Jefferson, LA 70123

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Gretchen Hirt Gendron, PIO