Stormwater, plants, soils, infiltration, filtration, evapotranspiration, rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavement, trees, wetlands, bioswales, flood reduction, heat, habitat, groundwater recharge, water quality, and resilient cities
Green infrastructure
Green infrastructure uses plants, soils, permeable surfaces, and natural processes to manage stormwater while adding benefits for water, heat, habitat, and communities.
What green infrastructure is
Green infrastructure is a way to manage stormwater using plants, soils, permeable surfaces, landscaping, and natural processes. Instead of moving rain away as fast as possible, it slows, stores, filters, infiltrates, or reuses water near where it falls.
How it handles stormwater
Green infrastructure works through infiltration, filtration, storage, evapotranspiration, and runoff reduction. These processes can reduce the volume and speed of water entering pipes, streams, and combined sewer systems.
Common tools
Examples include rain gardens, bioretention cells, bioswales, street trees, green roofs, rain barrels, constructed wetlands, conservation areas, riparian buffers, permeable pavement, and living shorelines in suitable coastal settings.
Water quality benefits
Stormwater can carry sediment, nutrients, oil, metals, bacteria, and trash. By filtering water through soil, vegetation, gravel, compost, or engineered media, green infrastructure can reduce pollutant loads before runoff reaches waterways.
Heat, air, and habitat
Trees, vegetation, and open space can shade surfaces, cool neighborhoods, support insects and birds, improve public spaces, and make streets more comfortable. These benefits depend on plant health, soil volume, design, and maintenance.
Groundwater and drought
Where soils and groundwater conditions allow, green infrastructure can increase infiltration and help recharge shallow groundwater. In dry periods, captured rainwater and healthier soils can also support vegetation and reduce irrigation demand.
Maintenance and limits
Green infrastructure is not self-maintaining. It needs sediment removal, plant care, inlet cleaning, inspections, soil protection, and replacement of failed components. Some sites need overflow paths, underdrains, or pretreatment to work safely.
Why it matters
Green infrastructure helps communities adapt aging drainage systems to heavier rain and hotter cities. It can complement gray infrastructure while turning stormwater projects into cleaner water, cooler streets, habitat, and more resilient neighborhoods.