As a part of the West River Watershed Management Plan (in progress), Save the Sound and the engineers responsible for drafting the plan have identified the area around Monitor Square as an ideal candidate for special gardens--called bioswales--and other green stormwater infrastructure. In addition to cleaning out the catch basin on the corner--which appears to frequently fill with debris--installing bioswales along the grass strip between the road and sidewalk would help to manage stormwater where it falls, alleviate the burden on our aging sewer infrastructure, and mitigate localized flooding. Continuing to report localized flooding issues may help the City of New Haven and the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority prioritize work on our storm and sewage infrastructure and better manage stormwater runoff (including storm drain back ups and flooding) and combined sewer overflows (when too much stormwater gets into the combined storm-sewer system and sends untreated sewage into our local waterways). Bioswales and other green infrastructure should be a part of the solution. For more information on the West River Watershed Plan, message me or visit CT DEEPs website to look at a copy of the "State of the Watershed Report": http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/water/watershed_management/wm_plans/west/westriver_techmemo1.pdf