Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials

Stormwater Resources

Alabama NEMO

Low Impact Development

Web Resources and Fact Sheets

What is NEMO?

The NEMO Program (Nonpoint source Education for Municipal Officials) is a process for educating professional and volunteer municipal officials about the impacts of land use on water quality and about the options available for managing those impacts.

Nonpoint source pollution, or polluted stormwater runoff, is the major cause of water quality problems in Alabama's streams, rivers, and bays.

Economic growth can occur in a manner that protects our valuable natural resources. NEMO offers easy to understand concepts on nonpoint source pollution, local planning options, and benefits associated with wise land use planning and natural resource protection.

Infiltration of stormwater on an undisturbed landscape is around 50%, while stormwater runoff is around 10%. When a landscape is hardened by impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs, and parking lots, approximately 55% of stormwater is lost to runoff and only around 15% infiltrates.

The NEMO Three Tiered Strategy

Select the title for documents from the Center for Watershed Protection
and National NEMO Program on these topics

1) Natural Resource Based Planning Check out the UGA Institute of Ecology's River Basin Center Land Use Planning and Growth Management web site for planning suggestions and model ordinances
2) "Green" Site Design
3) Structural Best Management Practices and Restoration

Alabama NEMO Resources

Web Resources & Fact Sheets

Alabama NEMO Training Workshops
Learn more about presenting NEMO in your area! Workshops are free of charge and participants receive resource notebook, NEMO cd, and tips on how best to work with local officials.

Alabama NEMO Communities

Spotlight Community - Alexander City Rain Garden Project

Download an example Alabama NEMO Powerpoint presentation

Alabama NEMO Poster Presentation from the third annual U3 National Conference

Learn more about Low Impact Development (LID)

Steve Foster enjoys concrete.

NEMO was originally a three-year project of the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System, in cooperation with the Connecticut Sea Grant College Program and the University's Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering. In Alabama, NEMO is coordinated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Office of Education and Outreach with cooperation from the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham.