CASQA Recognizes Mercy Housing in Partnership with the Aids Housing Alliance

Colonia San Martin Wins Award for Sustainable Stormwater Project

At its Fifth Annual Stormwater Conference, the California Stormwater Quality Association presented an award to Mercy Housing for the Colonia San Martin project. The award was presented at the conference awards luncheon on November 5, 2009 at the Hilton San Diego at Mission Bay.

"Mercy Housing California (MHC) is grateful to CASQA for this award, as it recognizes not only our efforts, but those of the AIDS Housing Alliance and our financial partners in Colonia San Martin, to develop affordable housing which includes green building technologies, eco-friendly materials and recycled waste resources," said Jane Graf, President of Mercy Housing California. "At each of our affordable housing construction sites, MHC engages in Stormwater Pollution Prevention Programs, which mitigates construction activities where on-site drainage could potentially pollute the soil, groundwater and surface waterways."

Mercy Housing will receive the Outstanding Sustainable Stormwater Project Award for the Colonia San Martin project in Sacramento. Colonia San Martin is an outstanding, innovative collaboration between Mercy Housing California and the AIDS Housing Alliance of Sacramento. Colonia San Martin is a recently completed 60-unit transit-oriented infill development in Sacramento County. The development is widely recognized as the first affordable housing project in Sacramento with solar power, and has a wide array of other sustainable features, including disconnected downspouts and vegetated stormwater quality bioswales, extensive use of drought-tolerant water efficient landscaping, community gathering areas, and a community garden with edible fruit trees to provide food for the residents.

"The design of our communities and the way we live within our communities have a tremendous influence on the quality of urban runoff - runoff that flows into storm drains and then ultimately into receiving waters such as creeks, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Unfortunately, pollutants that become entrained in urban runoff have contributed to the degradation of some receiving waters. The California Stormwater Quality Association is proud to honor these projects and those responsible for them because their innovation, contributions, and dedication lead to the improvement of urban runoff quality, and in turn the quality of receiving waters, in California," said Kerry Schmitz, CASQA Director and Awards Committee Chairman.

Three other CASQA Stormwater Excellence award recipients include:

* The Outstanding Stormwater BMP Award - Programmatic Category will be presented to the San Diego County Office of Education for their Municipal Stormwater Management Consortium that assists school districts in developing and implementing Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) for school bus maintenance facilities.
* The Outstanding Structural Stormwater BMP Award will be presented to the City of Santee for the Forester Creek Improvement Project, which is a restoration project that resulted in improved water quality, increased flood control capacity and restored beneficial uses for the creek.
* The Outstanding Regional Stormwater News, Information, Outreach, and Media Award will be presented to the City of Santa Rosa - Storms and Creeks Program for the Santa Rosa High School Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Program.

This two week curriculum provides opportunities for outdoor, hands on assessments of local creeks to promote stormwater awareness with local high school students.

CASQA awards are available to both public and private projects and individuals from public agencies and private businesses. Award candidates must be nominated by a CASQA member and are evaluated on demonstrated excellence, ingenuity, creativity, professionalism and documented results. Awards may be made at local, regional and statewide levels.

About CASQA

The California Stormwater Quality Association, founded in 1989, helps develop stormwater management programs and regulations that are technically and economically feasible, provide significant environmental benefits and effect compliance with State and Federal laws. Through its efforts to improve stormwater management practices, CASQA is on its way to creating cleaner waterways and beaches throughout California.

The association collaborates with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the California State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards, municipalities, special districts and businesses to achieve effective stormwater quality management programs in California. Membership consists of individuals and groups from government agencies, businesses, science organizations, development groups and construction groups. For more information about CASQA or to become a member, please visit www.casqa.org.

About Mercy Housing California

Mercy Housing California (MHC) is the largest regional business center of Mercy Housing, Inc., a national not-for-profit affordable housing organization headquartered in Denver. Mercy Housing has a presence in 41 states, serves more than 124,000 people on any given day and has participated in the development, financing or operation of more than 36,900 homes. About 75 percent of Mercy Housing's portfolio is rental units, and the remaining 25 percent is homeownership. Mercy Housing serves families, seniors and people with special needs (formerly homeless, people with HIV/AIDS and the developmentally disabled). For more information about MHC and its award-winning affordable housing communities, please visit www.mercyhousingcalifornia.org.

The mission of Mercy Housing is to create stable, vibrant and healthy communities by developing, financing and operating affordable, program-enriched housing for families, seniors and people with special needs who lack the economic resources to access quality, safe housing opportunities.