After Wednesday's Onondaga County Legislature meeting, the county is now one step closer to adding green infrastructure to its arsenal for combating the pollution issues of Onondaga Lake.  The green infrastructure, which includes rain barrels, rain gardens, and green roofs, would be used in tandem with traditional water treatment infrastructure to create a powerful one-two punch.

Onondaga LakeAs the Post-Standard points out, the plan approved by the Legislature would replace a 1998 settlement that relied on the traditional, "gray" solutions for treating storm water.  Where storm water treatment plants treat the water once it has already moved through the hydrological system, the green infrastructure would absorb and slow down the movement of water. 

The county is banking on these cost-effective capabilities and would scrap the construction of three new waste water treatment plants. The plan must now await final approval from U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin.