Tools for Evaluating the Benefits of Green Infrastructure for Urban Water Management

Communities are increasingly looking to green infrastructure as a means of meeting not only stormwater management objectives but multiple environmental, social, and economic goals. Rather than viewing water infrastructure in isolation or - as has often been the case - an after-the-fact means of responding to a flooding or public health crisis, today’s urban planners are striving to integrate urban water into their sustainable development goals. 

This report reviews the criteria, metrics and protocols being used to measure such integrated systems. This report provides overviews for two sustainable business metrics gaining popularity in the urban planning field - life cycle cost assessments and triple bottom line - as they apply to stormwater and urban water management. It outlines some of the practical challenges encountered when collecting data and measuring for performance. It also provides examples of cities such as Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. that have begun to embrace a more systems approach to water management in order to provide guidance to others who are interested in developing similar initiatives.