Configuring urban green infrastructure for flood mitigation using the EPA SUSTAIN model

Background/Question/Methods

The United States faces a looming water infrastructure crisis. A growing body of research suggests increasingly frail domestic drainage infrastructure contributes to increased urban flooding, waterborne pollution, and sewer overflow contamination.  At the same time, new water infrastructure demand is rising precisely as climate models predict greater U.S. precipitation variability and runoff intensity over time. Furthermore, the EPA forecasts hundreds of billions in municipal budget shortfalls for infrastructure repair in coming decades. To address these mounting challenges, an emergent urban runoff management approach – green infrastructure – is positioned to transform urban landscapes to mitigate waterborne pollution and flooding.  Green infrastructure defines a suite of ecologically-based low-impact design (LID) methods – such as green roofs, bioswales, and urban greenways – that, alone or in concert, supplement overtaxed drainage networks to afford cities greater ecological resilience.  

Results/Conclusions

Here, I present a green infrastructure analysis for State College, PA using the EPA-supported System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN) model. SUSTAIN simulates runoff quantity and quality to quantify absorption capacity of designed LID networks.  These results quantify the urban green infrastructure-based runoff capture potential optimized for configuration and cost, and will ultimately guide local policy makers in implementing long-term green infrastructure plans.