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With 520 miles of coastline, there are more residents living in high-risk flood zones in New York City than any other city in the United States. “As New York comes to grip with this new reality, the city, civic institutions, and community groups are building parks and playgrounds that incorporate plants, permeable pavement, greenroofs, green roofs, trees, bioswales, and rainwater catchment systems and other ‘green infrastructure’. This is important because cities are hotter than surrounding areas, and their residents are more vulnerable to heat waves, one of the greatest public health threats from climate change,” wrote Carter Strickland.

“Before our roads and houses were here, the native evergreen forests and that covered our Pacific Northwest landscape slowed and cleansed rainwater and helped it soak into the soil to recharge groundwater and replenish our creeks and rivers. Over the past 150 years, we have lost a great deal of this ecological function. We know now that the polluted runoff from impervious surfaces in urban areas is the number one threat to water quality in Puget Sound, that it’s toxic to salmon and other wildlife, and causes other problems like sewer overflows and flooding,” stated Tracy Hackett.

“Cumulative environmental impacts can be defined as effects on the environment which are caused by the combined results of past, current and future activities,” wrote Kris Hemlein. “Human activities, with time, combine to collectively impact the environment. These effects may differ from the original, individual activities. For example, ecosystems can be damaged by the combined effects of human activities, such as air, land and/or water pollution; improper handling of industrial waste; and other human development activities. Do our county planners, planning commissioners and commissioners adequately consider cumulative impacts of urbanization on our existing residents?”

“We’re so pleased with the agreement reached with the British Columbia Partnership for Water Sustainability. We have many needs in common, and many ideas to share. The leadership shown by the Partnership has led to a body of knowledge from which others can learn,” stated Charles Rowney. “British Columbia experience in whole-system, water balance based approaches in the Pacific Northwest adds a critical combination of tools and understanding to the water resources toolbox.”

Philadelphia hopes by the mid-2030s to create the largest green stormwater infrastructure in the United States. Nancy Stoner says the program was never solely about slashing combined sewer overflow, but also about providing larger environmental and social benefits. “Philadelphia wanted to do much more,” Stoner says. “They did a benefits analysis before they began that showed it would enhance air quality and climate resiliency. It takes the problem of stormwater and turns it into an amenity.”

“The threat of extreme heat and climate change, however, remains an imminent public health risk in the Puget Sound region and across the globe. In addition to blistering heat waves, increased stormwater runoff, flooding, low flows, and drought are increasingly threatening public health and safety, as rainfall frequency, duration, and magnitude are contingent on the climate,” stated Brigette Burich.

“Given that you can’t have everybody move out of the watershed, that’s where low impact development and managing rainwater onsite comes into play,” CJ Huxford explained. “About 25-35 percent of the water you use indoors gets flushed down the toilet or is used in your cold water laundry. So the philosophy is that if you have more people in the watershed with toilet flushing systems, there is a lot of potential cost savings.”

“Through our years of research and advocacy on water management issues, we realized that there was something of a disconnect between information and action. Rain Ready seeks to close that gap by making it easier for homeowners, businesses, and government leaders to create Rain Ready plans,” said Harriet Festing. The Rain Ready website features videos and how-to factsheets that show rain readiness in action.

“Several presentations dealt with stormwater management in a larger community context. Several of the speakers expressed interest in writing articles on the topic for Stormwater magazine. This initiated the idea that became our Green Infrastructure & Community Design Series. Colorado-based engineer Paul Crabtree coordinated the effort,” stated Janice Kasperson. The last article in the series, by Canadians Kim Stephens and Jim Dumont is a thoughtful review of the divergent goals of rainwater management in the US and Canada written from a British Columbia perspective.

By combining sensors and cloud computing, a new pilot project in Chicago provides an innovative solution for what can be an everyday urban problem: rainwater. “We would like to know at a high level whether the green stormwater infrastructure is working,” said Brenna Berman. “Is it preventing rainwater from entering the sewer system? Which designs work better in hard rains versus soft rains? Which work better during long storms versus flash floods?”