It Is Not Easy Being Green: Recognizing Unintended Consequences of Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Taguchi, Vinicius J.; Weiss, Peter T.; Gulliver, John S.; Klein, Mira R.; Hozalski, Raymond M.; Baker, Lawrence A.; Finlay, Jacques C.; Keeler, Bonnie L.; Nieber, John L.

doi:10.3390/w12020522

Cited by 68 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 201 publications

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“…However, it does imply that stakeholders must make a value judgment as to the relative importance of the water quality and habitat functions of stormwater ponds. 91 Where ecosystem protection is a priority, chemical analysis may be complemented with bioassays and ecological surveys to fully characterize the ecological risks of the complex contaminant mixture in stormwater pond sediments. 18 , 92 , 93 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contamination of Urban Stormwater Pond Sediments: A Study of 259 Legacy and Contemporary Organic Substances

Flanagan

Blecken

Österlund

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Stormwater ponds improve water quality by facilitating the sedimentation of particles and particulate contaminants from urban runoff. Over time, this function entails the accumulation of contaminated sediments, which must be removed periodically to maintain a pond’s hydraulic and treatment capacity. In this study, sediments from 17 stormwater sedimentation facilities from four Swedish municipalities were analyzed for 259 organic substances likely to be found in the urban environment. A total of 92 substances were detected in at least one sample, while as many as 52 substances were detected in a single sample. A typical profile of urban contamination was identified, including polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organotins, aliphatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, aldehydes, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorinated substances, and alkylphenols. However, levels of contamination varied greatly between ponds, influenced heavily by the dilution of urban pollutants and wear particles from other sources of particles such as eroded soil, sand, or natural organic matter. For 22 of 32 samples, the observed concentrations of at least one organic substance exceeded the regulatory threshold values derived from toxicity data for both sediment and soil.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contamination of Urban Stormwater Pond Sediments: A Study of 259 Legacy and Contemporary Organic Substances

Flanagan

Blecken

Österlund

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…In general, stormwater infrastructures include all those interventions that reduce the pluvial flooding risk of an urban area. The major difference between GreySIs and GreenSIs is the fact that the latter rely on living organisms (i.e., vegetation), thus including strategies such as evaporation, transpiration, biological absorption, storage, settling, filtration, infiltration, chemical adsorption and reuse [13].…”

Section: Defining Greysis and Greensismentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation of Urban Pluvial Flooding: What Drives Residents’ Willingness to Implement Green or Grey Stormwater Infrastructures on Their Property?

Pagliacci

Defrancesco

Bettella

et al. 2020

Water

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As a consequence of climate change, the impact of pluvial flooding is expected to increase in the next decades. Despite citizens’ poor knowledge, several types of stormwater infrastructure can be implemented to mitigate the impact of future events. This paper focuses on the implementation of green and grey stormwater interventions (i.e., with or without vegetation) on private properties. Framed by the Protection Motivation Theory, a survey-based case study analysis, carried out in a pluvial flooding-prone area of the Veneto Region (Italy), highlights the main factors driving people’s willingness to implement these interventions. The analysis shows that the implementation of grey stormwater infrastructures is driven by the perceived threat and the amount of past pluvial flooding damage (i.e., the direct experience as a proxy of prior knowledge) while the implementation of green stormwater infrastructures is driven also by additional factors (awareness of these interventions, age and education level of the citizens). Based on these results, lack of knowledge on innovative stormwater interventions represents a critical barrier to their implementation on private properties, and it confirms the need for specific dissemination and information activities.

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“…Creating an onsite basis for the effective identification of such preferences might require long work periods and pre-existing local organizations, which might be beyond political periods or academic research deadlines. In consequence, increasing the adaptive capacity of local planning frameworks is necessary to include unexpected changes or new knowledge systems, commonly omitted in the existing conventions [53,54].…”

Section: Lessons Learned From the Experimental Transition Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimenting Transition to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems—Identifying Constraints and Unintended Processes in a Tropical Highly Urbanized Watershed

Chapa

Pérez

Hack

2020

Water

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Green Infrastructure promotes the use of natural functions and processes as potential solutions to reduce negative effects derived from anthropocentric interventions such as urbanization. In cities of Latin America, for example, the need for more nature-based infrastructure is evident due to its degree of urbanization and degradation of ecosystems, as well as the alteration of the local water cycle. In this study, an experimental approach for the implementation of a prototype is presented. The prototype consists of a gray-hybrid element for first flush bio-treatment and runoff detention, adapted to the existing stormwater sewer. The experiment took place in a highly urbanized watershed located in the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica. The characteristics of the existing infrastructure in the study area at different scales were mapped and compared using the Urban Water System Transition Framework. Subsequently, preferences related to spatial locations and technologies were identified from different local decision-makers. Those insights were adopted to identify a potential area for the implementation of the prototype. The experiment consisted of the adaptation of the local sewer to act as a temporal reservoir to reduce the effects derived from rapid generation of stormwater runoff. Unexpected events, not considered initially in the design, are reported in this study as a means to identify the necessary adaptations of the methodology. Our study shows from an experimental learning-experience that the relation between different actors advocating for such technologies influences the implementation and operation of non-conventional technologies. Furthermore, the willingness of residents to modify their urban environments was found to be associated to their own perceptions about security and vandalism occurring in green spaces. The implementation of the prototype showed that both the hydraulic performance is relevant for considering it as a success, as well as the dynamics of the adapted element with the existing urban conditions. In consequence, those aspects should be carefully considered as the design factors of engineering elements when they are related to complex socio-ecological urban systems.

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It Is Not Easy Being Green: Recognizing Unintended Consequences of Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Cited by 68 publications

References 201 publications

Contamination of Urban Stormwater Pond Sediments: A Study of 259 Legacy and Contemporary Organic Substances

Contamination of Urban Stormwater Pond Sediments: A Study of 259 Legacy and Contemporary Organic Substances

Mitigation of Urban Pluvial Flooding: What Drives Residents’ Willingness to Implement Green or Grey Stormwater Infrastructures on Their Property?

Experimenting Transition to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems—Identifying Constraints and Unintended Processes in a Tropical Highly Urbanized Watershed

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