Another Asset Hidden in Plain Sight: Perfecting & Capturing the Value of

Green Infrastructure for for Community Ecosystem Services

Scott Bernstein, President, Center for Neighborhood Technology Chicago, IL, scott@cnt.org

Scott Fogarty, Executive Director, Friends of Trees Portland OR, scottf@friendsoftrees.org

Steve Wise, Executive Director, Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, Sandy, OR, swise@sandyriver.org

Outline • Better understand how climate change

and urban land use interact

• Identify strategies for adaptation with reference to Chicago, Pacific NW and Philadelphia

• Provide a basis for scalability of strategies that stress working landscapes over engineered systems

Urban Flooding a Serious Concern in Great Lakes Communities

• CNT’s Urban Flooding Survey:

Respondents = 30 of largest stormwater utilities or agencies in Great Lakes region, serving 330 municipalities with combined pop. of 20 Million: http://www.cnt.org/repository/Urban-Flooding.pdf

• 100% had received complaints of neighborhood or property flooding

• 87% had tracked these complaints or mapped areas of flood risk

• 20% had estimated the average annual cost of flood-related damage

• 53% have a plan to address flood alleviation

• 77% are interested in collaborating with CNT to improve flood alleviation policy

Fix It First… or Buy Something Better?

• “As governments, we’re on the hook to maintain core legacy infrastructure including roads, bridges, water, and sewers…

• But then there’s the infrastructure we’re turned on about…

• Mass transit, more complete streets, clean energy economy, broadband, smart grid and green infrastructure…”

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber

June 2012

Immersed in Old Habits: Contemporary Legacy of Outdated Methods

• Rainwater is legally defined as a

pollutant when it hits the surface, known as “runoff”

• Preferred solution is to treat it

and therefore performance = throughput rather than prevention

• After a half-century of federal policy, it’s just becoming acceptable to include working landscapes in portfolios of investments

• Data shows a potential 80% LCA advantage for GI but there is no “least cost” imperative

• Demand needs to come from the States and localities and from communities & property owners

Response to the Great Flood of Dayton 1913

Chicago 1972-present—Tunnel and Reservoir Program (TARP)

• 109 miles

• 2.3 billion gallons

• 17.5 billion gallons of reservoirs by 2029

• $3.1 billion

• 2011 Consent Decree Adds $3 Billion includes $100M for Green Infrastructure

• “Deep Tunnel” adopted in Milwaukee, Portland….

• Strategy could eventually rival nuclear power for overall costs

Annual Precipitation At Midway Weather Station Low of 21.32” in 1943 to High of 49.64 in 1993

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Fitted trend line shows a low of 31” in 1937, high of 50’ in 2011

19” total growth over 74 years = 0.26” per year

low of 30.5” in 1928 ………………… 47.5” in 2011

17.5” total growth over 83 years

= 0.21” per year

Chicago Sept. 13 2008

Billions Spent on an Incomplete, Incorrect Solution—Results?

• Rainfall severity increased • Discharges to surface

waters increased • Continued sprawl reduces

area permeability

Initial Steps

• Chicago Climate Action Plan and Implementation

• Permeability and Risk Mapping

• Benefits Calculator • Monitored Demonstrations • Smart Water Initiative • Green Infrastructure

Portfolio Standard • Counting the Benefits So

That Benefits Count • One-Stop “Wetrofit”

Services • Tree Increment Financing • Infrastructure Finance

Prognosis: Warmer, Wetter & Crazier

Source: CCAP

• Precipitation could increase 20

percent

• Frequency of extreme events,

2.5 inch 24-hour storm, could increase

50 percent by 2039 and

80-160 percent

by the end of the century.

1-Day, “20-Year Storms” Now

Every 12-13 Years

Contrasting Geological Permeability, Emerging Risk from Increasing Rainfall

• Not all geologies are equally permeable

• So some areas will be more exposed to flooding for equal amounts of rainfall

• Gleeson et. al. “Mapping Global Permeability,” Geophysical Research Letters 2011

Trends Across the U.S.

• Longer term trends emerging

• Green indicates growth in rainfall and flooding

• Brown indicates growth in drought

• Magnitude for both is between 1-4% per decade associated with major metro areas

• Percentage increases in very heavy precipitation events (the heaviest 1 percent of all daily events) from 1958 to 2007. Clear trends toward more very heavy precipitation for the nation, and particularly in the Northeast and Midwest (USGCRP, 2009).

Increase in Severe Rainfall Everywhere But Especially High in NE, MW, + Coastal Metro AreasTrend

www.greenmapping.org

• 170 GIS layers

• Land status, current and historic

• Interactive, searchable

• Shows where baseline GI network can be extended

• Currently mapping flood events with data from FEMA, State Farm and Allstate

• Shows that at least 40% runoff reduction = supply for 1 million people is possible

National Green Values Calculator http://greenvalues.cnt.org

• Compares green

and conventional

‘grey’

infrastructure

hydrological

impact, life cycle

costs, + benefits

• Adaptable to

local ordinance

compliance

• Example—Can

be Used to Meet

Chicago

Ordinance

Requirements

Monitored Demonstrations

Bellwood, IL Water Department Rain Garden w native (class C) soil—2.3” 24-hr storm

St. Margaret Mary Bioswale with amended soil over sandy

soil—6+” 24-hour storm

• Vegetated strips, no curbs = 11% reduction in impermeable surface

• 90+% runoff reduction • 25% cost savings

compared to conventional design

• “Double the stormwater benefit for the same cost” as SEA Street 1

Cost Effective—Seattle SEA Streets

Chicago IL Green Alleys Initiative

• 2000 miles of Alleys

• 3-5 Miles per Year Are Being Re-Built for Permeability

Chicago Policies—Accelerated Green Permitting

Green Infrastructure Portfolio Standard (aka GIPS) Benefits

Similar to Renewable Portfolio Standards:

• Long-term program: 10 – 20 years or more

• Small annual goals: 1% – 2% per year

• Flexible: allows use of infiltration,

evapotranspiration and harvesting water for

reuse

• Gives staff the ability to plan ahead, learn from

experience, adjust

• Cost effective way to make progress

29 states & DC have an RPS

6 states have goals

GIPS 8-Step GI Program Pilots Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, + Lancaster PA

• Create a Task Force • Select Project Areas • Determine Baseline

Runoff Volume • Identify GI Projects • Calculate Projects’

Retention Capacities • Set Annual Retention

Goals • Plan, Finance and

Construct GI Projects • Track Progress &

Continuously Improve

Wet Weather One-Stop Retrofit aka “Wetrofit” Program - Chicago

• Integrated flood abatement service

• Simple, low cost tools such as building rain gardens, repairing private lateral sewage pipes, installing green roofs, permeable pavement, trees and rain barrels.

• Mimics One-Stop Shops for Energy Efficiency: Audits, Contractors and Financing Bundled for Cities and Property Owners

Undammed: Ecosystem Services from The (Other) Sandy

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council

ACES Conference December 2012

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council

Mission—To restore + protect the natural,

cultural, and historical resources of the Sandy

River basin

Ph

oto

: J

osh

Klin

g,

We

ste

rn R

ive

rs C

on

serv

an

cy

Sandy River Basin Partners* Restoration Vision

“By 20XX … watershed

conditions that support:

(1) sustainable fish populations; (2) recreational

fishing opportunities, (3) use of clean and dependable drinking water;

and (4) diverse

aquatic recreational

opportunities”

*15 public land management and

non-profit organizations

Bull Run Watershed

9%

increase in

state

revenue

Portland Metro Water Supply 900,000 Customers

For All the Beer in Beervana

PDX Filtration Variance

Sunshine is not

only a good

disinfectant:

~$X00mil

saved in

cryptosporidium

treatment

exemption

City of Portland Habitat Conservation Plan Completed in 2008 provides leveraging resources

• 50 year legally-enforceable

agreement; minimum flows; habitat driven temperature

standards

• 49 prescribed restoration

projects inside and outside Bull Run, within Sandy Basin

• Habitat Fund for additional

projects not yet selected

• Monitoring and research

Ph

oto

: C

ity

of Po

rtla

nd

Regulatory— FERC (No. 477)

• All dams relicensed periodically

(decades)

• Requires updated compliance including ESA

• Economic cost/benefit -> ‘surrender’

‘Surrender’

and

Removal

of PGE’s

Bull Run

Hydroelectric

Project’

The Sandy Flows Free Again 2007 – PGE Decommissions Marmot Dam

Increasing Volatility on a Glacial River

Green Infrastructure Valuation Project Origins —>Tree Benefits

• EPA studies, others, looking for more info on benefits beyond construction cost or water

• Widespread questions about cost-effectiveness

• Green Infrastructure/LID Effectiveness > pure hydrological impact

• Documented ecosystem, energy and social benefits can leverage potential cost share, financing

One Tree

Stephanie Morse, CNT

Trees, Functions, Benefits – by the (anti) Gallon

Stephanie Morse, CNT

One (Billion) Tree(s) (--Wangari Mathai)

Stephanie Morse, CNT

Values: Trees, Energy, Carbon Air

Stephanie Morse, CNT

Runoff, Energy, Air, Livability

(Values of Green Infrastructure

CNT/American Rivers 2010)

Reduce CO2 Emissions

Recharge

Aquifers Reduce

Treatment

‘Watergy’ Benefits

Watergy Savings— Aurora, IL

• Baseline: 8.46 million kWh = 1,300 KWh per million gallons treated = ~2/3 municipal energy budget = $670,000/year

• Project area: 10% runoff reduction = 22 million gallons = 30,000 kWh = 21 MT CO2

• Citywide: 1 billion gallons runoff reduction = 1.4 million kWh = $108,000 annual savings = 990 MT Carbon = 181 cars

Aurora designated a 621 Acre area

as the Naturalized Stormwater

Management Corridor Plan

Source: Rooftops to Rivers: Aurora

Natural Resources Defense Council, 2009

Social Benefits

Sociological

Improvements

Reduce

Flooding

Increase

Property Value

Aesthetics

Reduce

Crime

Nature

Nicer

Bringing Benefits Together— Air + Health

Reduce

Heat Island

Air Qual.

+ Health Increase

Water Supply

Reduce

Building E

Reduce Water

Treatment

Bringing Benefits (all) Together

Stephanie Morse,

Katherine Nicols, CNT

“Tree Increment Financing”

A Philadelphia Story Tree Plantings: • 10% property value gain

= $4 million • 20 years taxed at 2.64% =

$2,112,000 Lot Improvements: • 30% gain

= $12 million • 20 years taxed at 2.64% =

$6,336,000 2000-2009 citywide: 423 parcels (13

acres) (Property Value Data: Wachter, U of PA,

2004)

PA Horticultural Society photos

Before

After

PDX Tree Asset Management

• Framework for utility investment/reinvestment, management of Trees, other GI

• Capital investment in GI is within GASB rules; needs utility/agency commitment, maintenance

• Multiple benefits strengthen service reliability, support bond ratings (reduce risk for performance, finance))

PDX Finance Strategy—Planting, Tracking Maintenance

Courtesy Portland BES

Cultivating Social Capital— Friends of Trees

Cultivating Infrastructure Capital— Planting the I-205 Multi-Use Corridor

• 10,000 Trees along multi use path

• Partnership of FOT/Metro/ODOT

• Transportation capital funds leveraged with multi-year maintenance

Summary Observations

• Scale matters— a large number of smaller, community scale investments can produce equal or greater value than a smaller number of large ones

• Policy matters—federal and State policies can impair or accelerate the rate of deployment of innovations

• Practice matters—we still rely on “generational turnover” at the implementation level

• Product packaging and financing matter

The Analogies With Energy and Transportation Planning Are There—Where Are the Gaps

• Information and knowledge creation—Can we create learning networks and data repositories to speed rates of adoption and deployment?

• Opportunities for systems integration—e.g. water + energy + transportation infrastructure—how can lessons learned from one kind of development, e.g. Transit Oriented Development, be put to use in another, such as Tree Increment or GI Financing?

• Policy— local and State GIPS, Clean Water Act re-authorization? (running on extensions since 1987)

• Communities of practice— How to expand one-stop services and integrate into local and regional performance measures?

• Capital access— what does a public-private partnership for green infrastructure look like?

• Collective efficacy and effective demand— How to organize sufficiently large coalitions and voices?

• Other?

Economic Impact Analysis—Moving Up the Ladder from System to Community Benefits

www.ssti.us/2012/05/economic-effects-of-transportation-investments/

Incentive for Accelerated Tree Planting: Land-Use Regulation At Sale (Shoup, APA 1996)

• 50% + of properties turn over every 6-7 years, 65% every 10

• Curve is for Burbank CA

• Validated nationally

• Tree amenities top choice in southern CA & elsewhere

Jepson, UCLA Simulation Lab

30 Consent Decrees With Settlements Under the Clean Water Act, 9 Require Green Infrastructure and 21 Do Not (2003-2012, only those with specific amounts committed)—total =$34 Billion

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3E+09

4E+09

5E+09

6E+09

7E+09

Range of commitments to invest from

$1 million to $6 billion

21 with no GI commitments

NE Ohio, $42 Million/$3B =1.4%

MWRD/NE IL, $25-50M/$3B = 0.83-1.66%

St. Louis County, $100M/$4.7B = 2.12%

Other 6 all under $3 million

Capturing Transit Value at the Station & Neighborhood—How You Define it Determines What’s Possible

Source: U. of Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey Institute 2008

Congestion Relief

Complements existing commute

flows

Limited emphasis on development

Future Growth and

Development

Addresses future congestion

High development opportunities on

corridor

Equity

Connects low-income

neighborhoods to job centers

Provides low-cost access relative to

automobiles

Economic Development

Placed along older arterial corridors

Transit investment intended to spur re-development

Corridors Serve Different Roles Based on Defining Characteristics

Not All Corridors Will Support Significant Increments of New Development

Value Capture Corridor Value Capture Corridor

Filling In Missing Links by Adding Streetcar Circulation— Reduced Portland VMT & Transport Carbon 67% Part of Portland Climate Plan (From Street Smart, CTOD 2006)

Los Angeles—Moderate system, plan to create an extensive system, new local tax revenues in the bank AND create extensive community benefits

• Dedicated ½ cent tax passed during 2008 gas price shock

• Will generate $35-40 Billion over 30 years

• Original plan was to leverage with single loan guarantee and tax credit bonds and get the job done in 10 years

• Adaptive leadership—Move LA! & elected leaders now pushing for “35-15”

• Significant GHG reduction, job creation & access & value creation

Thank You!

• scott@cnt.org • harriet@cnt.org • swise@sandyriver.org • scott@friendsoftrees.org • www.cnt.org/water • www.cnt.org • www.friendsoftrees.org • www.sandyriver.org