MSU ecologist Erin Dreelin has only lived in Michigan for a few months, but she said she's ready to make her mark in the state.

She is part of a growing community of people who attended the Smart Growth for Clean Water Conference 2005 on Thursday at the Kellogg Center and are trying to change the ecology of cities, she said.

"Coming from the ecological point of view, I've been seeing the effects of urbanization on streams and aquatic systems," Dreelin said.

Storm water management was the focus of the conference, as it relates to growing communities and the resulting polluting runoff from streets and buildings. The event was organized by the Michigan Environmental Council, and 225 people from the Great Lakes region attended.

Dreelin said she has concerns about how storm water is managed at MSU.

"A lot of people walk by the river and don't know what effect not having a buffer zone is having," Dreelin said.

MSU needs to look at ways to break up impenetrable surfaces, such as sidewalks and roads, with areas of natural vegetation, she said.

Dreelin said in her previous home in Georgia, communities have switched to porous pavement in parking lots to slow down the flow of water to nearby rivers.

"Even a small lot made a big difference," Dreelin said.

MSU terminated plans to create a seventh dorm hall in the Brody Complex last week because of its planned location in the Red Cedar River floodplain.

Meanwhile, East Lansing officials are asking for a floodplain study as part of planned overhaul of the East Village, bound on the west and east by Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road. Officials said they are worried nearby buildings could flood.

At the conference, city developers, environmentalists and researchers listened to a new way of thinking about watershed issues, said Brad Garmon, Michigan Environmental Council special projects coordinator.

"This is different from what storm water managers have been doing in the past," Garmon said.

Typically, land owners try to get rid of all storm water from a piece of land as quickly as possible, but this has some real environmental consequences, Garmon said. Flooding and pollution occur when water does not have a chance to percolate into the soil, he said.

With development expanding, there are more impenetrable surfaces that move water too quickly to streams and rivers, Garmon said.

"If you're dealing with the water when it gets in the channel, you've lost the battle," Garmon said.