Stormwater Database

The purpose of creating the Multi-Benefit Stormwater Management Practices Database is to identify, compile and disseminate cost-effective stormwater management examples to improve water quality, reduce local pollution, improve land use and increase local water supplies in communities across the country, which is critical as we prepare for the impacts of climate change. The overarching goal is to share lessons learned and help in the adoption of these practices specifically in disadvantaged communities and help guide them to financing options. The deployment of multi-benefit stormwater management projects can address a multitude of environmental justice issues. 

What you can find in the Multi-Benefit Stormwater Management Practices Database are multiple project examples we chose to highlight, including:

• Location
• Websites we sourced
• A brief description of the project
• Project benefits
• How project was funded

7GA focused on 5 overarching stormwater management categories and identified which of those the project encompassed. These 5 categories are:

• Water Storage (Infiltration, Detention or Retention)
• New or Improved Drainage Infrastructure
• Flood Mitigation
• Biofiltration/Green Infrastructure Elements (Green Streets, Bioswales, Rain Gardens, Permeable Pavement, Energy Dissipator)
• Habitat Restoration.

Also included is the database is how the Project was Funded and the Watershed that the project helps protect. During the research portion of this project, the world experienced the outbreak of the coronavirus. Many local city and state governments have made extreme cutbacks to staff and have less resources due to the impacted economy. This may defer these important water projects altogether. In anticipation of this (and in recognizing that another goal for this project is to convince several cities to adopt such measures), 7GA dedicated another tab on the database to highlight various ideas for municipalities to fund their projects. These solutions are creative, proven methods of funding. This toolkit will hopefully help jurisdictions get to their solutions quickly instead of needing to spend time and resources on which project is the best and how they can fund it. In this tab, Finance Solutions, you will find various examples of financial support of stormwater projects such as:

• Programs developed from Measures
• Propositions
• Transportation Agencies
• Cities and City Programs
• Counties and County Programs
• States and State Programs
• Federal Programs
• Utility Companies
• Private Sector
• Foundations