PA: Green Infrastructure Rising

Print Now August/September 2008 Green Infrastructure Rising Best practices in stormwater management By Steve Wise The future of stormwater has arrived, and that future is green. Green infrastructure, that is. First, a definition. Green... More

Print Now August/September 2008 Green Infrastructure Rising Best practices in stormwater management By Steve Wise The future of stormwater has arrived, and that future is green. Green infrastructure, that is. First, a definition. Green infrastructure is the interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas — greenways, wetlands, parks, forest preserves, and native plant vegetation — that naturally manages stormwater, reduces the risk of floods, captures pollution, and improves water quality. In cities and other urbanized areas, that network can be extended by means of rain gardens, green roofs, tree planting, permeable pavement, and other landscape-based drainage features. They restore, protect, and mimic natural hydrologic functions within the built environment. Growth in paved and other impermeable surfaces increases stormwater runoff pollution, even if that pollution is directed toward conventional stormwater infrastructure. But green infrastructure Less