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Green Infrastructure
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines green infrastructure as, Green
infrastructure uses natural hydrologic features to manage water and provide environmental and
community benefits (EPA, sec. What is Green Infrastructure?). Green infrastructure essentially
improves the environment by preserving open space and supports sustainable communities. Not
only is it cost-effective, green infrastructure is a strong system used for water infrastructure
requirements too, providing many more benefits to communities such as environmental (i.e.
reduces pollution), increases energy efficiency, social (i.e. improve public health), and economic
(EPA, sec. Basics).
Banking on Green, a new report, reviews various practical options for managing polluted
runoff while protecting clean water. The subsequent statement explains how some green
infrastructure applications provide beneficial fixes in todays unstable economy:
Specifically, green roofs provide insulation and shade for buildings, thus
reducing their need for both heating and cooling costs. Street trees, when
properly placed, can affect energy consumption by shading buildings,
providing evaporative cooling, and by blocking winter winds. Infiltration
features, such as rain gardens, can reduce the amount of energy required
for pumping by raising groundwater levels. Water harvesting and reuse
reduce the energy consumption of water utilities for conveyance and
treatment.
This report concludes that green infrastructure solutions can save taxpayers money and
provide benefits to communities by managing stormwater at its source.
(AR/ASLA/ECON/WEF, 16)

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Here are is a collection of green infrastructure elements that should be interlaced
throughout watersheds:
Downspout Disconnection - the redirection of rooftop drainage pipes to
drain rainwater to penetrable surfaces, like lawns or flowerbeds.
Rainwater Harvesting - systems that collect and store rainfall for later
use.
Rain Gardens shallow, vegetated basins that collect and absorb runoff,
known as stormwater from rooftops, sidewalks, and streets.
Planter Boxes urban rain gardens with retaining walls with open or
closed bottoms that collect and absorb stormwater.
Bioswales channels that move stormwater from one place to another.
Permeable Pavements - are paved surfaces that infiltrate, treat, and/or
store rainwater where it falls.
Green Alleys and Streets integrate green infrastructure elements into
street and/or alley designs.
Green Parking integrate green infrastructure elements into parking lot
designs.
Green Roofs roofs covered with growing medium and vegetation that
enable rainfall infiltration and evapotranspiration of stored water.
Urban Tree Canopy - Many municipalities establish tree canopy goals to
restore the benefits provided by trees. Trees lessen and slow stormwater
by diverting precipitation with their leaves and branches. Cities,

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businesses, and homeowners can all contribute in the planting and
maintenance of trees throughout the urban forest environment.
Land Conservation - Protecting open spaces and delicate wilderness
within and adjacent to towns can alleviate water quality and flooding
impacts of urban stormwater, while offering recreational opportunities for
residents. (EPA, sec. Basics)
These applications, which depend on natural processes such as evaporation,
infiltration, and plant transpiration, are able to complement traditional grey
infrastructure successfully and affordably, giving stormwater managers the capacity to
create combined solutions to help their communities. Moving to this fresh model also
generates better sustainable communities that are more capable of meeting future
challenges (AR/ASLA/ECON/WEF, 1).

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Works Cited
A Joint Report by American Rivers, the Water Environment Federation, the American Society of
Landscape Architects and ECONorthwest. Banking on Green: A Look at How Green
Infrastructure Can Save Municipalities Money and Provide Economic Benefits
Community-wide. : ASLA, 2012. The American Society of Landscape Architects . Web.
15 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.asla.org/uploadedFiles/CMS/Government_Affairs/Federal_Government_Aff
airs/Banking%20on%20Green%20HighRes.pdf>.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
<http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm>.