Thinking beyond storm pipes

Rain or runoff on a roadway? Used to be, you'd just have to get the drains unclogged and storm pipes cleared to send the overflow into a nearby waterway.

These days though, green-conscience consumers are forcing communities to look at trees and special soils that can trap and use pollutants before they enter streams and areas such as the Charles River Basin. Denise Zambrowski, storm-water manager for the town of Franklin, says, "We have 48 miles of streams and 266 acres of ponds, and 95 percent of our watershed ends up in the Charles River.''

Read more and see what communities are doing here.