Intersection of Maintenance, Effectiveness, and Equity in Green Stormwater Infrastructure in the Chesapeake Bay Region

Abstract

One of the main attractions of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) practices is their potential to confer numerous social, economic, and health benefits on nearby communities in addition to reducing stormwater volumes and stormwater nutrient and sediment pollution. Because of these co-benefits, many view GSI as a means for increasing equity in areas that have historically experienced environmental injustices. To date, much of the conversation around GSI and equity has focused on where GSI practices are installed. However, the degree to which GSI practices effectively manage stormwater and equitably provide ecosystem services over the long term is strongly dependent on how they are maintained, a topic which has received less attention.

Rachel Zobel

PhD Candidate

Carolyn B. Voter

Assistant Professor