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Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) and sustainable stormwater management

This page provides links to information on green stormwater infrastructure, green infrastructure, and sustainable stormwater management.

Green Infrastructure: Throughout this manual, these green alert boxes identify a stormwater practice that is considered a green infrastructure practice.

photo of a rain garden planted with native vegetation

Example of a rain garden planted with native vegetation providing stormwater treatment and other benefits such as habitat and aesthetic value.

Green infrastructure encompasses a wide array of practices, including stormwater management. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) encompasses a variety of practices primarily designed for managing stormwater runoff but that provide additional benefits such as habitat or aesthetic value.

Water management using green infrastructure practices mimics the natural water cycle. Examples of green infrastructure practices include planting trees, restoring wetlands, enhancing biodiversity, and restoring floodplains. Green infrastructure incorporates both the natural environment and engineered systems to provide clean water, conserve ecosystem values and functions, and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife. Green infrastructure can be applied on different scales, from the house or building level, to the broader landscape level. On the local level, green infrastructure practices include rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting systems. At the largest scale, the preservation and restoration of natural landscapes (such as forests, floodplains and wetlands) are critical components of green infrastructure.

Stormwater management using green infrastructure practices involves keeping and using water close to its point of origin (i.e. keeping the raindrop where it falls). Practices include those local practices mentioned above - rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting systems. Because their multiple benefits of these practices, in addition to stormwater management, the manual includes a variety of topics related to green infrastructure as illustrated below.

schematic of gray to green

Schematic showing spectrum of stormwater control practices ranging from gray to green infrastructure. Source: Taguchi et al. 2020. Water:12:522

Contents

Green stormwater infrastructure and sustainable stormwater management concepts and overview

Green infrastructure planning

Green stormwater infrastructure best management practices

Additional information on green stormwater infrastructure

Support documents

These are documents received as part of MPCA work orders. Most of this material is incorporated into the pages on this topic, with minor edits.