Whether it arrived years ago and called itself low-impact development or appeared more recently under the name green infrastructure, chances are that, almost anywhere you are in the US, you’ve encountered it. Techniques ranging from bioswales and rain gardens to permeable pavements to green roofs are changing the way—at least in part—we manage stormwater runoff. More and more cities are adding green infrastructure to their arsenals as a way to supplement the traditional grey infrastructure of gutters and pipes and storm sewers—infiltrating, reusing, or otherwise diverting runoff to extend the capacity of the existing systems and delay or avoid upgrading and replacing them.
A newly released report helps quantify the money many of these cities are saving, and points out other benefits of GI as well. “Banking On Green: A Look At How Green Infrastructure Can Save Municipalities Money And Provide Economic Benefits Community-Wide” was released by American Rivers, the Water Environment Federation, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and ECONorthwest. Using many examples and data from EPA, FEMA, and the American Society of Landscape Architects, and others, the report shows that GI can help avoid energy expenditures and the costs of flood damage, and possibly reduce maintenance costs or at least spread them out so that fewer big expenditures are required at one time.
Three of the report’s authors—Jeffrey Odefey of American Rivers, Seth Brown of the Water Environment Federation, and Mark Buckley of ECONorthwest—will be presenting at StormCon next August in Denver on the economic benefits of green infrastructure. Several other StormCon presentations will show how green infrastructure has been used in specific locations, either on a small scale—a community park or an auto dismantling operation, for example—or a large one, as in Edmonton, Alberta, and Gwinnett County, Georgia. There are also presentations dealing with barriers to accepting and implementing green infrastructure and how those can be overcome, as welll as on modeling the effectiveness of green infrastructure practices. You can find the complete StormCon program at www.stormcon.com; these presentations are in the Green Infrastructure track.
Is your city or program relying on green infrastructure techniques? What have you found to be the most effective in your region?
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Upcoming Forester University Webinars
April 25th
Designing Effective Sediment Containment Systems for Construction
Are your containment systems effective? Join Jerald S. Fifield and Tina R. Evans for the second installment of our advanced Sediment and Erosion Control Master Class Series and the first part of our Effective Sediment Containment Systems Series, Designing Effective Sediment Containment Systems for Construction Sites, exploring a scientific and engineering assessment of parameters necessary to capture design size particles while flood flows are discharging from a containment system.
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April 26 th, 2012
Nutrient Sources and Transformations -
How to Optimize Nutrient Removal in SCMs
Are your Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) effectively removing nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff? Join Bill Lucas to explore how to select and design SCMs to improve nitrogen and phosphorus retention. After an overview of nitrogen and phosphorous forms, sources, and transformations, Lucas will discuss how nitrogen and phosphorus transformations can be optimized in SCMs; how to select and design SCMs for settings; and how to tailor these programs to meet TMDL requirements more cost effectively.
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May 2nd, 2012
Limitations of Commonly Found Construction Site Sediment Control BMPS
Are your temporary BMPs reliable? Join Jerald S. Fifield and Tina R. Evans for the third installment of our advanced Sediment and Erosion Control Master Class Series and the second part of our Effective Sediment Containment Systems Series, Limitations of Commonly Found Construction Site Sediment Control BMPs, exploring temporary BMPs, their limitations (e.g., barrier BMPs), and the principals and practice in assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of barrier BMPs.
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May 3rd, 2012
How to Conduct a Water Audit and Avoid the Pitfalls
Avoid the water auditing pitfalls! Join Troy Aichele, LEED AP (O+M) of Aichele and Associates LLC for How to Conduct a Water Audit and Avoid the Pitfalls on Thurs., May 3rd to learn the step-by-step process of performing a water audit; the key information, tools, equipment, rebates, and typical pitfalls in performing successful audits; and learn how to use a custom plumbing fixture water audit spreadsheet. Learn how to successfully conduct your own water audit and avoid common water auditing pitfalls to ensure your audit goes smoothly.
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May 17th, 2012
Effective LID Stormwater Reduction
Improve your stormwater reduction through effective low impact design (LID). Join Douglas Beyerlein, P.E., P.H., D.WRE to explore the different types of LID (e.g., green roofs, rain gardens / bioretention, impervious runoff dispersion, etc.), how they work
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May 31st, 2012
How to Calculate Water Audit Payback Periods and Write Water Audit Reports
Maximize your payback! Join Troy Aichele, LEED AP (O+M) of Aichele and Associates LLC for How to Calculate Water Audit Payback Periods and Write Audit Reports on Thurs., May 31st addressing the most essential skill in water auditing: how to calculate payback period and incorporate it effectively in your water audit report. Within this discussion, Aichele will explore how to calculate water audit improvement periods using a custom-built payback spreadsheet calculator; how to calculate use rates; how to incorporate savings, rebates and utility increases into your payback calculations; and how to write a water audit report letter incorporating water audit results and payback periods.
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April 18th, - May 25th, 2012
Sediment and Erosion Control
Master Class Series
Join industry expert and bestselling author Jerald S. Fifield, Ph.D., CISEC, CPESC and Tina R. Evans, PE, CISEC for a comprehensive 6-part online master class and workshop series (0.9 CEUs / 9 PDHs) exploring the ins and outs of effective sediment and erosion control plan design and review based on Fifield’s recently released 3rd edition of the bestselling manual Designing and Reviewing Effective Sediment and Erosion Control Plans (included in your Master Class Series package).
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April – May 2012
Water Auditing Master Series
3-Webinar Series
Learn the ins-and-outs of water auditing! Join 2010’s Speaker of the Year, Troy Aichele, LEED AP (O+M) of Aichele and Associates LLC for the Water Auditing Master Series, a 3-part webinar/webcast series focusing on getting you up-to-speed on the key attributes, uses, and opportunities in water auditing, as demonstrating step-by-step how to conduct a water audit, avoid the pitfalls, calculate payback periods, and incorporate these into your reports.
Series includes:
* Water Auditing 101: Introduction to Water Auditing
* How to Conduct a Water Audit and Avoid the Pitfalls
* How to Calculate Water Audit Payback Periods and Write Water Audit Reports
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