Tag: green infrastructure (Page 2 of 2)

Crosswalking between Gray and Green Infrastructure for Budget Officers

GreenRoof2As the green infrastructure (GI) approach to water management gains momentum, the budget process needs to adapt to some of the characteristics that make green distinct from the more traditional gray infrastructure approach. As communities are embarking on GI, shortcomings in the budgeting process can falsely create a bad first impression. When inaugural GI projects are grossly over budget for their installation, or need more frequent maintenance than planned, future GI projects may be blocked before the current project’s vegetation can become established enough to produce the significant benefits for which it was designed. However, considering and planning for certain key attributes of GI can fend off this negative cycle. Continue reading

A Green Infrastructure Parking Lot – Questions and Ideas on Incentives for Stormwater Management

ParkingLotTo address the huge costs of stormwater management, communities across the nation are creating new programs to attract investment. But what are the key conditions and governing structure needed to encourage higher private investment in localized stormwater management? The EFC at UNC recently examined this question with a group of stormwater professionals from 31 states and Washington DC. Hosted by SESWA, the discussion focused on different communities’ approaches to folding incentives into a stormwater management plan. We took the perspective of a downtown parking lot owner, weighing our financial options as we sought to mitigate stormwater effects on our property. Would we install green infrastructure on our parking lot?

Continue reading

Downstream Thinking: National and Regional Trends in Green Infrastructure

8183599860_f79c2ac63a_zBy Anna McGeehan

“We all live downstream.” In the world of stormwater management, this concept is particularly relevant. Polluted waterways have far-reaching impacts for us all. Increased flooding, higher water treatment costs, strain on existing infrastructure, beach closures, and decreased biodiversity all pose significant and costly threats to communities, towns, cities, and states.

Green Infrastructure (GI), an alternative to traditional urban growth designs, is receiving considerable attention as a cost-effective way to reduce pollution, manage stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and maximize infrastructure investments. GI is an affordable mitigation strategy that uses a variety of techniques, such as native vegetation, rain gardens, bioswales, or porous pavement, to add unique aesthetic value to new or revitalized development site. The EFC’s comprehensive catalog of over 50 GI publications highlights several cities that are leading the country through their use of innovative, comprehensive, and effective GI strategies.

However, outside of these featured case studies, GI projects remain largely piecemeal and single-scale. Further, the EFC’s review of GI literature reveals that there is a perception among many local communities that GI technologies are still emerging and lack a prescriptive framework, and that they can be cost-prohibitive when compared to the traditional pipe and treatment design.

With these concerns in mind, many communities interested in GI are left wondering, “What might a Green Infrastructure project look like in this community?”
Continue reading

Newer posts »