When landscape architect Craig Cawrse set out to construct a new building for his business in South Russell, Ohio, he also embarked on an effort to make it sensitive to the environment and to his residential neighbors.
One of the most celebrated features of the new High Point neighborhood is an elaborate drainage system which works to enhance rainwater management with the result of easing the pace of rainwater drainage into the Longfellow Creek watershed.
Rainwater management is about developing in a way that restores the function and value of trees, soil and open space in our communities. If we develop with long-term sustainability in mind, future generations can enjoy a vibrant city and clean and healthy rivers.
Pervious concrete — the technology Queen Anne's County will use in Bloomfield Farm's parking lots — allows water to drain straight through into a reservoir below the pavement where it can subsequently soak into the ground.
‘Green City, Clean Waters’ reimagines the city as an oasis of rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavements, thousands of additional trees, and more. “I believe it’s the most significant investment in transforming the city that we’ll see in our lifetimes,” said Patrick Starr, Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “It will change the way neighborhoods look, the way many streets and blocks look.”
In developing the Villebois community in Oregon, Costa Pacific launched a rainwater management plan funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency that filters and redistributes rainwater back into the ground, reducing the amount of pollutants released into the area's streams and rivers.
Dave Briglio – author of Stormwater Magazine articles
In 2007, a 3-part series focused on causes, effects, and remedies leading to the establishment and refinement of administrative procedures, professional trust, proactive approaches, and the elimination of plan implementation obstacles.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency maintains a web page that lists links to published stories on green infrastructure success throughout the United States.
In 2004 the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Sonoma County (California) established the WATER Institute (Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education & Research) to promote an understanding of the importance of healthy watersheds to healthy communities.
In the October 2008 issue of Stormwater Magazine, Margaret Buranen examines the state-of-the-art of green roofs in the USA today, providing some basic definitions of their types and construction. The article also looks at how the United States compares to Europe, where green roofs are more widely used, and how some of the barriers, such as higher costs, are slowly being removed.
