Accelerating Cost-Effective Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Learning from Local Implementation

Authored By:

Nell Green Nylen and Michael Kiparsky, Wheeler Institute for Water Law & Policy

"Conventional stormwater management strategies based around “gray” collection and conveyance systems— networks of gutters, storm drains, and sewers—have not solved persistent stormwater problems. Instead they have shifted, and in many cases exacerbated, the impacts of stormwater runoff, trading urban flooding for pollution and hydromodification of nearby rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries.

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is an important part of the solution. A different approach to stormwater management is needed. Effective management requires a holistic approach that employs a locally tailored mix of on-site and off-site retention, treatment, and use along with pollutant source controls to protect local waters and meet other community and regulatory objectives."