CNT Leads National Partnership to Demonstrate the Economic Benefits of Green Infrastructure
In a US EPA-funded project, CNT is using its highly acclaimed guide – The Value of Green Infrastructure: A Guide to Recognizing Its Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits to help showcase the added economic benefits of green infrastructure.
CNT released the guide in 2011 to provide municipalities with a methodology for assessing the financial, environmental and community benefits of select green infrastructure elements. By demonstrating that a comprehensive green infrastructure strategy can help reduce the economic burden of water management while improving a community’s quality of life, CNT has helped establish green infrastructure as part of a viable planning solution to stormwater management. The City of Lancaster, PA will be used as the basis of the upcoming case study. Lancaster developed its own Green Infrastructure Plan in 2010 to establish a more sustainable community and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff returned to local waterways.
According to Danielle Gallet, CNT’s infrastructure strategist and project lead, “Cities can vary enormously on the challenges they face and, therefore, the benefits that a green infrastructure program might bring to them. We are excited to work with Lancaster and further develop the usefulness of the Guide.”
This EPA-funded project will provide a framework for other municipalities as they begin to evaluate their own wet weather management needs and investments. Other project partners include Tetratech and American Rivers. To find out more about this project contact Danielle Gallet: danielleg@cnt.org.
