SMCWPPP is a member of the GI Leadership Exchange (“the Exchange”), which strives to accelerate the affordable and equitable implementation of green stormwater infrastructure throughout North America by supporting peer learning, innovation and collaboration among cities, counties, and utilities. The Exchange is a project of the Global Philanthropy Partnership. For more, visit
giexchange.org.
Under the Exchange’s Collaborative Grant Program, SMCWPPP led the development of the Climate Resilience Resources Guide (CRRG), in partnership with the City of Portland, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, City of Philadelphia, City of Baltimore and Waterfront Toronto. The CRRG explores the intersection of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and urban impacts from climate change. GSI is a decentralized approach to stormwater management that mimics natural hydrology by slowing and/or retaining runoff generated from rainfall. Resilience-focused policy, planning, and implementation of GSI could make communities more resilient to climate change while providing human health benefits. However, existing planning, design, and maintenance standards for GSI might leave this infrastructure at risk of not performing per current stormwater regulations or being damaged because of the impacts of a changing climate. This Guide explores potential changes to current GSI policy, planning, and implementation practices that could enhance the climate resilience benefits provided by GSI and considers how climate change could negatively impact GSI performance. The primary target audience for this Guide includes municipal staff, decision-makers, and regulatory entities. Recommendations in this Guide may also be helpful for community members and stakeholders to advocate, plan, implement, and maintain GSI.
The CRRG examines decision-making processes for planning and implementing GSI based on climate resilience, public engagement, and equity considerations. The CRRG provides tangible tools and templates for supporitng the decision-making process for integrating GSI and climate reslience and includes relevant resources throughout, including frameworks for considering equity in GSI planning and finding and utilizing downscaled climate model projections. A full matrix of resources is provided in Appendix A.