Climate Change, Damaging Storms and the Role of Green Infrastructure

Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 12:26 pm

Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church in Calumet. Photo taken after a storm in the summer 2008. Before the bioswale was installed, the parking would be flooded for days after a big rain. The bioswale soaked up this rain after one day.

As Chicago-area residents continue to clean up from last weekend’s storms that dumped more than eight inches of rain in less than 48 hours, it is important to consider why such storms seem to be occurring more often and what we can do to lessen the damage as they happen in the future.

The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that human-induced climate change is already altering our planet. The effects of climate change will affect all parts of the planet, including the Midwest, where we can expect more extreme summer heat days, threats to agriculture, and more intense and frequent storms.

Some changes are already occurring. Average yearly temperatures have steadily increased, snow comes to the region later and melts earlier than in the past, and heavy rains occur today roughly twice as often as they did a hundred years ago.

Although climate scientists cannot determine that a single weather event is the result of climate change, observed changes and climate projections suggest that more intense storms will increase as the planet’s climate changes.

The Chicago region, like most, relies almost exclusively on man-made infrastructure – curbs, gutters, pipes and catch basins – that whisk rain away from our streets and parking lots and release it into nearby streams and lakes. This current system is mostly effective, but has significant flaws:

• Existing infrastructure cannot handle the amount of rainfall produced during large storms and will be hard-pressed in the future to handle more intense storms expected in a changing climate. That means households and businesses will continue to experience flooding.
• Rain enters the same pipes that manage the region’s household sewage. When a large storm hits, the rain overwhelms the system, which results in raw sewage overflowing into the Chicago River and, thus, other bodies of water.
• Rain picks up pollutants when it runs off roadways and parking lots. The rainwater carries that pollution through the sewer system and into our streams and lakes, contaminating drinking water sources.
• Whisking rain away from where it falls prevents local aquifers from re-charging, meaning that communities reliant on well water will face water shortages as they grow.

Meanwhile, green infrastructure, using natural systems to manage stormwater by retaining and filtering rain where it falls, can reduce runoff and flooding and remove pollutants. Numerous green infrastructure projects in the region have already made a positive impact on the properties around them. Simple green infrastructure systems installed in 2008 at St. Margaret Mary Church in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood have effectively protected the property from extensive flooding since.

Additionally, many types of green infrastructure offer benefits above and beyond what conventional infrastructure provides. Green infrastructure installations increase the natural beauty and economic value of developed areas, provide habitat and connectivity for plants and animals, clean and re-charge groundwater sources, and reduce the urban heat island effect. Some green infrastructure systems, such as green roofs and rain gardens, may improve air quality and provide benefits for the climate.

Earlier this year, a task force of planners and engineers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) completed a green infrastructure analysis mandated by the Illinois General Assembly. The UIC-CNT report concluded that green infrastructure is effective and affordable solution to stormwater runoff and should be implemented across the state.

“The performance of green infrastructure is at the very least comparable to detention approaches to stormwater management,” the report found. And, in terms of cost, the report estimated that “green infrastructure is frequently 5-30% less costly to construct and about 25% less costly over its life cycle compared with traditional infrastructure.

Last month, in a letter to the General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois EPA director Douglas P. Scott endorsed the findings of the UIC-CNT green infrastructure report and laid out next steps for his agency to implement the report recommendations.

With the likelihood of increased heavy storms in future years due to a changing climate, creating a robust and sustainable stormwater management system is more important than ever before. Green infrastructure will allow us to sustainably adapt to a changing climate as a society, and it will help individual businesses and homeowners keep stormwater out of their buildings.

Comments (1) »

Green Infrastructure Surges Across the U.S. – Illinois Reaching for Policy Lead

Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 3:24 pm

Recent actions by both Congress and the State of Illinois are bringing Green Infrastructure (GI) closer to becoming the preferred stormwater strategy to control runoff by sustainable, cost- and ecologically effective methods.

The U.S. Senate now is considering national Green Infrastructure policy, with introduction of the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act.  CNT and a broad national coalition worked vigorously for development of the “GI for Clean Water Act”, which is now introduced in both chambers.

The Act would fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finance federal cost-share grants for planning and implementation of community Green Infrastructure, and would establish “centers of excellence” for GI training and research. The Act would also financially support states that develop Green Infrastructure Portfolio Standards—incremental targets for stormwater management that would increase the use of green infrastructure over time, similar to renewable energy portfolio standards that most states have adopted to reach renewable energy targets.

“It’s time for Congress to move Green Infrastructure to center stage in our national water strategy,” said Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President for Policy at CNT. “Green Infrastructure creates healthier, more vital communities, protects clean water, saves money and energy, and helps to create green jobs. The Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act will extend EPA’s partnership toward sustainable communities by expanding cost- and ecologically effective green infrastructure.”

S. 3561, sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, follows the introduction of similar legislation, H.R. 4202, in the U.S. House late last year. The House bill now has 40 sponsors from 20 states. CNT’s work with a coalition of conservation groups—National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), American Rivers, the American Public Works Association (APWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), Clean Water Action, and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA)—has helped garner strong support from members of the House—from California to Kentucky; Texas to Ohio.  We urge you to contact your Senators and encourage them to co-sponsor and support the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act today!

Call to Sustainable Stormwater Action in Illinois

While Congress considers the federal role in expanding green infrastructure nationally, Illinois is making a strong run at developing its own Green Infrastructure performance standards.

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director Doug Scott announced a broad commitment to GI policy, funding, and long-term statewide action. In a letter to Governor Pat Quinn and the General Assembly, Scott set out his agency’s blueprint for making Green Infrastructure a mainstay of stormwater management programs across the state in the coming year.

Scott said Illinois’ commitment has 5 key elements, including plans to:

1. Develop statewide performance standards for stormwater management within 12 months,
2. Initiate a grant program to financially support communities’ implementation of GI projects,
3. Devise a GI portfolio standard that would set incremental, multi-year implementation targets for watersheds or counties,
4. Revise state revolving loan criteria to prioritize GI projects within water infrastructure financing, and
5. Work aggressively with communities and counties to educate officials and developers on the effective use of GI practices.

A recent study reviewed GI’s effectiveness and outlined how the state can develop gradually increasing targets to implement Green Infrastructure—both by watershed and by region. The study, “Using Green Infrastructure to Manage Urban Stormwater Quality: A Review of Selected Practices and State Programs” was developed by University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, CNT and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program, under requirements of the Illinois Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act.

Responding to the recommendations contained in that report, IEPA Director Scott wrote that, “IEPA is receptive to setting performance standards to retain stormwater runoff that would be applicable in urban and urbanizing areas statewide.”

“With Illinois and other states struggling financially, this is a critical time to capitalize on GI’s cost-saving, ecologically effective solutions,” said CNT Natural Resources Director, Steve Wise. “CNT is looking forward to working with IEPA to ensure that GI’s many benefits flow sooner and faster to Illinois communities, while water flows more slowly and cleanly to waterways through raingardens, bioswales, green roofs, native plants, green streets, trees, rainbarrels and cisterns, and permeable pavement. Completing the study on statewide GI policy is a big step, but turning the state’s pledges into action will be a bigger one.”

The combination of federal, state and local actions is key to successful GI expansion because states implement and regulate the federal Clean Water Act, and stormwater management happens at the municipal and local level. “When federal and state agencies are looking at performance based standards and establishing regional portfolio standard goals through which we can keep track of our progress in reducing runoff over time, the combined energy and momentum ensures that widespread implementation of Green Infrastructure will be successful,” Wise added.

Both state and federal programs would ultimately make more financial resources available for community Green Infrastructure projects. CNT encourages Illinois communities to prepare GI project plans for upcoming grant and loan opportunities, and to request that IEPA develop its GI priorities and programs as soon as possible.

For more information, please contact Steve Wise, CNT Natural Resources Director at 773-269-4042, swise@cnt.org or Hal Sprague, CNT Senior Policy Associate, at 773-269-4046, hal@cnt.org

(Photo courtesy of Morris K. Udall Foundation’s Flickr page)

Comments (1) »

Green Infrastructure Can Be Divine!

Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

Annunciation Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish in Homer Glen, southwest suburb of Chicago

Last week, CNT organized a tour for the Hickory Creek Watershed Planning Group and members of the villages within the watershed to Annunciation Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish. The group was eager to learn about the parish’s use of native plant communities to create a unique place in the area and to manage the excessive stormwater flowing over and through the property whenever it rains.

The church was built in 1999 on 10 acres in Homer Glen, a southwest suburb of Chicago. Initially, the landscaping was conventional with acres of lawn to manage. It wasn’t long before it became apparent that very wet conditions made much of the landscaping a nightmare to maintain. Fr. Thomas Loya had attended meetings on sustainability at Homer Glen and met people from Conservation Design Forum. Together they developed a master plan for the church landscape. More than ¾ of the turf grass was converted to native prairie grasses and wildflowers.

Fr. Loya has become an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and inspirational messenger for “green infrastructure”—landscapes that work in concert with nature. Water is managed as an asset; soaking into the ground near where it falls, instead of away from the property to be dealt with somewhere else. Native plants that evolved in the region are conditioned to the climate and can withstand drought and flooding. Insects become interesting instead of pests. The soil, without fertilization, becomes richer over time. And every day yields new sights to be enjoyed by the people that come to sit and walk the property, as well as insights to be contemplated.

Fr. Loya testified to the many benefits that the church has reaped from the transition. People within the congregation are attracted to the church, many staying long after the Sunday service to experience nature. Neighbors also walk or bike on the trails to visit friends or just for fun.

The cost of preparing the site and seeding was only $15,000 and the annual cost for maintaining the native portion is only $6,000 per year. The annual cost of maintaining that same amount of turf grass would be about double these annual costs, so the transition paid for itself in 2 to 3 years. Father Loya’s one regret – not doing it right the first time.

Last year, CNT was selected by CMAP as the Coordinator of the Hickory Creek Watershed Planning Group. The Watershed Planning Group is conducting an 18-month planning process with technical consultant Geosyntec Consultants to create a plan to preserve one of the finest streams in the Chicago region as the surrounding municipalities expand rapidly. For the past two years, CNT has been working with Joliet, New Lenox, Mokena, Frankfort, Tinley Park, Orland Park, Homer Glen,Will County, CMAP, the Sierra Club, and Prairie Rivers Network to build support for the watershed planning.  More information at http://www.hickorycreekwatershed.org/

See more photos from the tour at CNT’s Flickr page.

Comments (0) »