Green Infrastructure and Site Design for Sustainable Stormwater and Watershed Management

The Clean Water Act includes numerous water quality protection requirements to safeguard our country’s navigable waters. Generally, the municipal strategy to comply with the regulations is to focus solutions on water quality improvement structural solutions at the end of storm drain outlets to receiving water bodies. While addressing water quality requirements, however, this paradigm is one-dimensional, vis-à-vis, water quality. When dealing with water resources, water quantity is also, or should be, part of an overall long-term, sustainable water management plan.The City of Santa Monica approach promotes city-wide sustainable site design strategies to achieve an environmentally-responsible finished project, parcel by parcel, private and public. The City’s approach addresses quantities of dry and wet weather water resources. The advantage is not only water quality improvement, but also creation of a new local water supply. By demonstrating the efficacy of these green infrastructure and low impact development innovations, the City hopes to set a new, replicable standard for municipalities in sustainable site design and watershed management programs.