Caitlin Feehan

Green infrastructure (GI) refers to a set of stormwater management practices that collect, infiltrate, and reuse stormwater runoff as it is created when rain falls on the streets, roofs, and other impervious areas found in cities. Cities across the United States are making significant commitments to the implementation of GI as part of their regulatory requirements to reduce untreated stormwater from flowing into waterways. While the use of GI is growing, little has been written on the need for and the importance of maintenance to keep these GI projects performing over time.  As part of a summer 2013 internship, eight of the cities in the United States leading the trend of GI implementation were surveyed about the current state of each city’s GI maintenance program. Consistent questions were asked of each program and the information collected included: GI maintenance program roles and responsibilities; the maintenance program’s structure; specific maintenance activities and frequencies for those activities; the methods for tracking the completion and results of maintenance activities; and maintenance program costs. This paper documents the results of those conversations and provides a summary of GI maintenance programs based on the eight different maintenance program examples.