Green Infrastructure Implementation at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago

In 2013, the MWRD Green Infrastructure (GI) section was formed in order to facilitate the anticipated expanding role that GI will play in our industry. For the past 6 years, the main goals of the section have been to meet the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Consent Decree requirements for installation of green infrastructure volume, to determine strategies to efficiently implement GI solutions throughout the region, to test projects for effectiveness, and to monitor the performance and maintenance of the projects in order to ensure that they are functioning properly. The majority of the GI projects installed so far have been partnerships between the MWRD and various governmental agencies. As the program has expanded, we have learned from comparing and evaluating projects in order to get the most stormwater benefit, while also reaping a variety of social and environmental co-benefits. The projects that already have been constructed can keep over 5 million gallons of stormwater out of our local sewer systems, leading to a reduction in flooding and CSO volumes. As we observe and evaluate existing projects, we can continue to maximize the effectiveness of future projects. This presentation will give an overview of our GI program, project selection process, common design elements, and highlight key example projects.