Green Infrastructure Implementation in the Great Lakes

Green infrastructure is an incredible tool for improving water quality in almost any watershed. But real results only come with large scale implementation and scaling up green infrastructure can be a daunting and challenging task. Despite the challenge, the Great Lakes region is seeing a tremendous increase in the implementation and use of green infrastructure in both large and small municipalities. The goal of this workshop is to provide information on where the use of green infrastructure is expanding in the Great Lakes, the drivers behind it, and the challenges the region still faces in implementing it broadly.The Great Lakes has been a cradle of innovation when it comes to the use of green infrastructure. Beyond Chicago, which has focused on green roofs and green alleys, there is a great deal of activity in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Toledo, Buffalo and other Great Lakes cities. The workshop will aim to give an overview of what these cities are doing, with a particular focus on Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and Toledo.There are several drivers behind the use of green infrastructure in the region. Much of this comes from the large number of combined sewer systems in the region and the accompany legal consent decrees compelling cities to minimize their sewer overflows and how green infrastructure fits into that paradigm. In addition, the USEPA is in the process of changing its stormwater permitting structure, with a draft permit rule scheduled to be released in June 2013. The workshop will give an overview of this process and its potential impacts on green infrastructure in the region.Finally, despite the growth of green infrastructure in the region, there are still obstacles to the widespread use of the technique in the region, particularly in a lack of standard practices in certain green infrastructure BMP fields, lack of knowledge, and how to fund implementation. Stormwater utilities are of particular relevance to this topic, and there are certain challenges and legal obstacles to establishing utilities in certain Great Lakes states, such as Michigan, that need to be overcome.This presentation will leave the participant with a general sense of current green infrastructure use in the Great Lakes, and its future.