Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perspectives on the Use of Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management in Cleveland and Milwaukee

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Green infrastructure is a general term referring to the management of landscapes in ways that generate human and ecosystem benefits. Many municipalities have begun to utilize green infrastructure in efforts to meet stormwater management goals. This study examines challenges to integrating gray and green infrastructure for stormwater management, informed by interviews with practitioners in Cleveland, OH and Milwaukee WI. Green infrastructure in these cities is utilized under conditions of extreme fiscal austerity and its use presents opportunities to connect stormwater management with urban revitalization and economic recovery while planning for the effects of negative- or zero-population growth. In this context, specific challenges in capturing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure exist because the projects required to meet federally mandated stormwater management targets and the needs of urban redevelopment frequently differ in scale and location.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Learning from the shortcomings of attempts at urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s, we recognize that issues of social equity must remain central, as the neighborhoods most affected by high vacancy rates are often disproportionately the homes of people of color and low-income populations (Fullilove 2004).

  2. The US EPA (the research funder) stipulated that the study involve no more than eight interviewees, lest the study trigger the Paperwork Reduction Act.

  3. While Rotterdam and Melbourne case studies also addressed funding limitations, the issues raised appeared relevant to more advanced and holistic applications of green infrastructure. These included apportioning costs of multi-functional green infrastructure among stakeholders and separating funding streams among different urban water management programs. This suggests that future funding challenges may start to emerge as project implementation proceeds (see Brown and Clarke 2007; Corbett 2010; de Graff and van der Brugge (2010).

  4. An examination of the range of organizations that were represented or mentioned during our interview process reveals the expected regional sewer districts and local public works or environmental departments as well as newer actors, including city-wide sustainability departments, community health and development organizations, universities, and even a botanical garden.

  5. Similar issues were raised by Brown and Clarke (2007) and Corbett (2010), when discussing the impetus behind the development of the Victorian “Cleanwater Progam” in Melbourne, which was created in 2002 to foster partnerships across organizations and disciplines and provide technical, administrative, and institutional capacity building to local government and industry professionals on sustainable urban water management.

References

  • Ab Razak IA, Christensen ER (2001) Water quality before and after deep tunnel operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Water Res 35(11):2683–2692

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Assad N (2012) Locating barriers to and opportunities for implementing low impact development within a governance and policy framework in southern Ontario. Thesis, University of Guelph

  • Briglio D (2011) Practicality, feasibility, and compliance in stormwater management. Stormwater. www.stormh2o.com/forms/print-7447.aspx. Accessed 20 May 2011

  • Brookes K, Brown R, Morrison P (2011) A case study analysis of the critical factors influencing a private land developer adopting water sensitive urban design. http://www.watersensitivecities.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011_Brookes-and-Brown_12ICUD.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2012

  • Brown R (2005) Impediments to integrated urban stormwater management: the need for institutional reform. Environ Manag 36(3):455–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown R, Clarke J (2007) Transition to water sensative urban design: the story of Melbourne, Australia. Facility for Advancing Water Biofiltration, Monash University, Clayton

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown RR, Farrelly MA (2009) Delivering sustainable urban water management: a review of the hurdles we face. Water Sci Technol 59(5):839–846

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burkholder S (2012) The new ecology of vacancy: rethinking land use in shrinking cities. Sustainability 4:1153–1172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callenbach E (2011) Sustainable shrinkage: envisioning a smaller, stronger economy. Solutions 2(4):10–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmon N, Shamir U (2010) Water-sensitive planning: integrating water considerations into urban and regional planning. Water Environ J 24:181–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • City of Cleveland (2011) Sustainability at work. Department of Water Pollution Control. www.clevelandwpc.com. Accessed 19 Sept 2011

  • Clean Water America Alliance (2011) Barriers and gateways to green infrastructure. http://www.cleanwateramericaalliance.org/news_NewsWaves_2011_09.php. Accessed 3 Jan 2012

  • Cleveland City Planning Commission (2010) Connecting Cleveland 2020 Citywide plan: population. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/cwp/pop_trend.php. Accessed 21 Nov 2012

  • Cleveland City Planning Commission (2012) Ideas for vacant land reuse in Cleveland. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/#. Accessed 2 Dec 2012

  • Corbett D (2010) Achieving sustainable stormwater management in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the journey to a water sensitive city. Novatech, 2010. http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/bitstream/handle/2042/35638/13101-015COR.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed 21 Nov 2012

  • Creswell JW (1998) Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • de Graff R, van der Brugge R (2010) Transforming water infrastructure by linking water management and urban renewal in Rotterdam. Technol Forecast Soc 77:1282–1291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demographia (2006) International: selected cities with declining population ranked by annual loss rate. http://www.demographia.com/db-intlcitylossr.htm. Accessed 21 Nov 2012

  • Department of Public Works (2011) Infrastructure division: environmental section. http://city.milwaukee.gov/mpw/divisions/infrastructure/EnvironmentalSection.htm. Accessed 25 Sept 2011

  • Doll A, Scodari PF, Lindsey G (1999). Credits as economic incentives for on-site stormwater management: issues and examples. In: Proceedings of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Conference on Retrofit Opportunities for Water Resource Protection in Urban Environments, Chicago, pp 113–117

  • Dunn AD (2010) Siting green infrastructure: legal and policy solutions to alleviate urban poverty and promote healthy communities. Pace Law Faculty Publications, Paper 559, 41–66

  • Easterling DR et al (2000) Observed variability and trends in extreme climate events: a brief review. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 81:417–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis JB, Green C, Revitt DM (2012) Identifying success factors in urban surface water BMP implementation: mission impossible? http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6503/. Accessed 3 July 2012

  • Enterprise Community Partners (2012) Building American cities toolkit. Center for Community Progress. http://www.communityprogress.net/toolkit-pages-292.php. Accessed 8 Dec 2012

  • Fullilove M (2004) Root shock: how tearing up city neighborhoods hurts America and what can we do about it. One World/Ballantine, New york

    Google Scholar 

  • Girardet H (1999) Creating sustainable cities. Green Books, Devon

    Google Scholar 

  • Green O et al (2012) Identification and induction of human, social and cultural capitals through an experimental approach to stormwater management. Sustainability 4(8):1669–1682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawthorne M (2011) Feds probe chronic sewage overflows into lake, streams. Chicago Tribune, March 19, 2011

  • Hein S (2003) Government pollution: the metropolitan Milwaukee sewerage district’s impact on Lake Michigan. Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report, 16, 6

  • Hoornbeek J, Schwarz T (2009) Sustainable infrastructure in shrinking cities: options for the future. Kent State University, Kent. www.cudc.kent.edu/shrink/Images/neorc_infrastructure_report.pdf. Accessed 22 June 2011

  • Hull P (2000) NPDES phase II: the next phase. Eros Control J 7(1):40–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn ME (1998) The silver lining of Rust Belt manufacturing decline. J Urban Econ 46:360–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspersen J (2000) The stormwater utility: will it work in your community? Stormwater Magazine

  • Keeley M (2007) Using individual parcel assessments to improve stormwater management. J Am Plan Assoc 73:149–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lach D, Ingram H, Rayner S (2005) Maintaining the status quo: how institutional norms and practices create conservative water organizations. Tex Law Rev 80:2027–2053

    Google Scholar 

  • LaCroix CJ (2010) Urban agriculture and other green uses: remaking the shrinking city. Urban Law 42:225

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson K (2009) Social acceptability of water resource management: a conceptual approach Resources Conference. http://www.gwri.gatech.edu/uploads/proceedings/1999/MillerA-99.pdf. Accessed 3 Sept 2011

  • Lee S, Yigitcanlar T (2010) Sustainable urban stormwater management: water sensitive urban design perceptions, drivers and barriers. IGI Global, Engineering Science Reference, Hershey, pp. 26–37

  • Livingston D, Ashbolt N, Colebatch H (2006) Institutional barriers to decentralized systems. J Aust Water Assoc 33(3):75–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Means EG, Laugier MC, Daw JA, Owen DM (2010) Impacts of climate change on infrastructure planning and design: past practices and future needs. J Am Water Works Assoc 102:56–65

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AE, Kundell JE (1999) Insight into state and local government responsibilities for effective watershed management in Georgia. In: Proceedings of the 1999 Georgia Water Resources Conference. http://www.gwri.gatech.edu/uploads/proceedings/1999/MillerA-99.pdf. Accessed 3 Sept 2011

  • Mitchell B (2005) Integrated water resource management, institutional arrangements, and land-use planning. Environ Plan A 37(8):1335–1352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MMSD (2011) Every Drop Counts. http://v3.mmsd.com/. Accessed 11 Jan 2012

  • Montalto F, Behr C, Alfredo K, Wolf M, Arye M, Walsh M (2007) Rapid assessment of the cost-effectiveness of low impact development for CSO control. Landsc Urban Plan 82:117–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neiswender C, Shepard R (2010) Elements of successful stormwater outreach. www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/natlstormwater03/25Neiswender.pdf. Accessed 31 May 2011

  • NEORSD (2011) Project clean lake. NEORSD. www.neorsd.org/projectcleanlake.php. Accessed 24 Jan 2011

  • Office of Environmental Sustainability (2011) Green Milwaukee. http://city.milwaukee.gov/sustainability. Accessed 24 Sept 2011

  • Olsson P, Folke C, Berkes F (2004) Adaptive co-management for building resilience in social-ecological systems. Environ Manag 34(1):75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parikh P, Taylor M, Hoagland T, Thurston H, Shuster W (2005) Application of market mechanisms and incentives to reduce stormwater runoff: an integrated hydrologic, economic and legal approach. Environ Sci Policy 8(2):133–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitt R et al. (2003) Evaluation of NPDES phase 1 municipal stormwater monitoring data (EPA/625/R-03/003). In: National conference on Urban stormwater: enhancing the programs at the local level, pp 306–327

  • ReImagining Cleveland (2012) ReImagining a more sustainable cleveland: about. http://reimaginingcleveland.org/about/. Accessed 21 Nov 2012

  • Rosenberg EA et al (2010) Precipitation extremes and the impacts of climate change on stormwater infrastructure in Washington State. Clim Chang 102:319–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy AH, Shuster WD (2009) Assessing impervious surface connectivity and applications for watershed management. J Am Water Resour Assoc 45:198–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy AH et al (2008) Impediments and solutions to sustainable, watershed-scale urban stormwater management: lessons from Australia and the United States. Environ Manag 42:344–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saleth RM, Dinar A (2005) Water institutional reforms: theory and practice. Water Policy 7:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Schilling J, Logan J (2008) Greening the rust belt. J Am Plan Assoc 74:451–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher EF (1999) Small Is beautiful: economics as If people mattered: 25 years later… with commentaries. Hartley & Marks Publishers, Vancouver

  • Shafer K (2011) Fresh coast, green solutions; weaving Milwaukee’s green and grey infrastructure into a sustainable future. http://v3.mmsd.com/Sustainability.aspx. Accessed 27 July 2011

  • Sharma A, Cook S, Tjandraatmadja G, Gregory A (2012) Impediments and constraints in the uptake of water sensitive urban design measures in greenfield and infill developments. Water Sci Technol 65:2

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster WD et al (2011) Moving beyond the udorthent—a proposed protocol for surveying urban soils to service data needs for contemporary ecosystem management. Soil Surv Horizons 201:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Somekh B (2005) Research methods in the social sciences. Sage Publishing, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust (2012) An introduction to sweet water. http://www.swwtwater.org/home/about_swwt.cfm. Accessed 12 Feb 2012

  • Starkl M, Brunner N, Flogl W, Wimmer J (2009) Design of an institutional decision-making process: the case of urban water management. J Environ Manag 90(2):13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor AC, Fletcher TD (2007) Nonstructural urban stormwater quality measures: building a knowledge base to improve their use. Environ Manag 39:663–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurston HW (2006) Opportunity costs of residential best management practices for stormwater runoff control. J Water Resour Plan 132(2):89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurston HW, Goddard HC, Szlag D, Lemberg B (2003) Controlling stormwater runoff with tradable allowances for impervious surfaces. J Water Resour Plan 129(5):409–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trauth KM, Shin YS (2005) Implementation of the EPAs water quality trading policy for storm water management and smart growth. J Urban Plan D-ASCE 131:258–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsihrintzis V, Hamid R (1997) Modeling and management of urban stormwater runoff quality: a review. Water Resour Manag 11:137–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Tzoulas K et al (2007) Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas using Green infrastructure: a literature review. Landsc Urban Plan 81:167–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US EPA (2007a) Memorandum from Benjamin H. Grumbles, to Regional Administrators re: Using Green Infrastructure to Protect Water Quality’ (March 2007), Washington DC

  • US EPA (2007b) Using Green Infrastructure to Protect Water Quality in Stormwater, CSO, Non-point Source and Other Water Programs, Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/greeninfrastructure_h2oprograms_07.pdf. Accessed 3 Feb 2008

  • US EPA (2008) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/index.cfm. Accessed 3 Sept 2011

  • US Government Accountability Office (2011) Vacant properties: growing number increases communities’ costs and challenges. Report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House of Representatives

  • Van de Meene SJ, Brown R, Farrelly M (2009) Exploring sustainable urban water governance: a case study of institutional capacity. Water Sci Technol 59(10):1921–1928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Tak L, Pasteris P, Traynham L, Salas C, Ajello T, Baker E (2010) Storm sewer infrastructure planning with climate change risk: the City of Alexandria Virginia Case Study. Water Pract Technol, 5(4). http://www.iwaponline.com/wpt/005/wpt0050085.htm. Accessed 18 Jan 2012

  • The Water Council (2011) Water Council Mission. Milwaukee Water Council: Serving the Word water hub. http://www.thewatercouncil.com/about/. Accessed 17 Jan 2012

  • Wong THF (2006) Water sensitive urban design—the journey thus far. Aust J Water Resour. Special Issue, 10(3): 213–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeh CH, Labadie JW (1997) Multiobjective watershed-level planning of storm water detention systems. J Water Resour Plan 123:336–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported, in part, by the US EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) and National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), under contract EP-11-C-000067. The authors wish to thank Kyle Dreyfus-Wells, Frank Greenland, Peter McAvoy, Terry Schwarz, Kevin Shafer, Lilah Zautner, and two interviewees who wished to remain anonymous for their contributions to the study. We also appreciate the helpful input of Laura Grape, Sayedul Choudhury, Bob Newport, Brooke Furio, and four anonymous reviewers. This research was performed in compliance with the US ethical standards under the review of the George Washington University Institutional Review Board. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, George Washington University, 1922 F Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Melissa Keeley

  2. Masters Candidate, George Washington University, 1922 F Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Althea Koburger

  3. Department of Politics, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK

    David P. Dolowitz

  4. Northern Virginia Regional Commission, 3060 Williams Drive, Suite 510, Fairfax, VA, 22031, USA

    Dale Medearis

  5. Ecologic Institute, Pfalzburger Strasse 43/44, 10717, Berlin, Germany

    Darla Nickel

  6. US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    William Shuster

Authors
  1. Melissa Keeley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Althea Koburger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David P. Dolowitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dale Medearis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Darla Nickel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. William Shuster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Keeley.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Keeley, M., Koburger, A., Dolowitz, D.P. et al. Perspectives on the Use of Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management in Cleveland and Milwaukee. Environmental Management 51, 1093–1108 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0032-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0032-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation