Green roofs | Minnesota Stormwater Manual

Information: The Minnesota Green Roofs Council has a new database of green roofs in Minnesota

Green Infrastructure: Green roofs consist of a series of layers that create an environment suitable for plant growth without damaging the underlying roof system. Green roofs create green space for public benefit, energy efficiency, and stormwater retention/ detention.

Information: Green roofs can be particularly effective stormwater Best Management Practices in ultra-urban settings.

image of target center green roof, Minneapolis, MN — View of the Target Center Arena green roof, located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Image by Bergerson Photography, Courtesy of The Kestrel Design Group, Inc., INSPEC, and Leo A Daly.

Green roofs typically occur at the beginning of stormwater treatment trains. Green roofs provide filtering of suspended solids and pollutants associated with those solids, although total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations from traditional roofs are generally low. Green roofs provide both volume and rate control, thus decreasing the stormwater volume being delivered to downstream Best Management Practices (BMPs).

For a literature review of green roof benefits, see File:Green roof benefits.docx.
The full contents of the green roofs section are contained within a pdf document. To access the pdf, link to: File:Green roofs.pdf

A listing of contributors and participants to the development of pages comprising the green roof section of this Manual appears in the Acknowledgements section.

Acknowledgements