Hydrologic Modeling Meets Community Voices: Advancing GSI in Northeast Wilmington
Image credit: AGUAbstract
In response to mounting pressures on combined stormwater and sewer systems including aging infrastructure and changing precipitation patterns, many cities have embraced green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) as a technique that can help manage stormwater runoff while providing social and environmental co-benefits. As these practices are installed more widely and the broader public becomes more familiar with them, at times residents now advocate for more GSI practices in their neighborhoods as well. The Northeast Wilmington area, located in the lower Brandywine River Watershed, is one location experiencing both city-led GSI investment and resident-led requests for more GSI throughout the community. However, given the numerous co-benefits often attributed to GSI, it is unclear a) precisely why residents desire GSI, b) whether it is possible for GSI to provide these benefits at this location, and c) if city-led GSI investments – largely on publicly owned land – can achieve the outcomes desired by residents, or if adoption on private land may plan an important role. We combined extensive public engagement via interviews and surveys with hydrologic modeling in PCSWMM to identify GSI practices and locations that are both hydrologically effective and aligned with resident concerns. Results highlight the possibilities but also the limits of implementing GSI to achieve diverse resident goals within a downstream community, as well as the extent to which adoption on private land may augment publicly installed practices.
Rachel Zobel
PhD Candidate
