Green Infrastructure Stormwater

Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as a promising approach for reducing the cost and disruptions associated with grey infrastructure replacement, for improving flow management and water quality performance, and for providing an array of urban sustainability co-benefits. GI has also become a centerpiece of many urban stormwater management plans especially where combined sewer overflows contribute to surface water quality impairment. The next several years will be a critical time in the advancement of GI science and practice as cities move from the planning and financing stages to full-scale implementation and, ultimately, to evaluation against regulatory and legal standards.

This Research Topic will document findings of scientists and water engineers who seek to predict the effectiveness of GI practices in urban watersheds in a range of climatic settings. Detailed case study data will also help better understand potential future interactions of changing climate conditions and GI performance. Therefore, the Research Topic will accept both literature review and case studies that focus on common GI approaches in many urban areas: rain gardens, bioswales, constructed wetlands, green roofs, and permeable pavement. Particular topics of interest include:
- How different types of GI influence biogeochemical cycles and the environmental consequences surface waters and groundwater?
- Demonstration of socio-economic co-benefits and disbenefits attributable to GI structures.
- Demonstration of water utilization and increased vegetative growth from GI implementation.
- Model evaluation for coupled hydraulic and biogeochemical behavior of structures, especially under high flow conditions.
- Comparison of expected integrated benefits to data from study cities.