Implementing Green Infrastructure under Enforcement Orders

Green infrastructure can provide cost-effective, flexible, and environmentally sound solutions to meet Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements. It also can provide other community benefits, including:

• enhanced ecosystem services,
• improved air quality,
• increased property values,
• energy savings,
• reduced urban heat island effects, and
• job creation opportunities.

Communities around the country are increasingly incorporating green designs into wet weather controls to address compliance with the CWA. This webcast highlights two communities that have successfully integrated green infrastructure into EPA enforcement agreements to meet regulatory requirements, better manage combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and stormwater runoff, and meet other community goals.

• Webcast Slides (pdf)
• Webcast Transcript (pdf)

Details

Session 1—Second Chances: Retooling a Great Lakes City with Green Infrastructure

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Manager of Watershed Programs, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD)

NEORSD is responsible for addressing the legacy CSO problem in the city of Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. Under its plan for CSO control—Project Clean Lake—the district has embarked on a program that combines gray and green infrastructure to address CSO volume in a typical year. This presentation introduces NEORSD and its unique governance structure and describes the green infrastructure projects planned through the next 8 years. It highlights the opportunities, challenges, and issues inherent in rebuilding stormwater infrastructure in an urban area dominated by combined sewers.

Learn more about Project Clean Lake.

Session 2—Maximizing Partnerships to Fulfill Infrastructure Investment

Andy Shively, Engineering Officer, Kansas City Water Services

Kansas City developed its 2009 overflow control program to meet regulatory requirements related to reducing overflows from the combined sewer system and preventing overflows from the separate sewer system. The city’s plan is the largest infrastructure investment in its history, and it has made the city a national leader in addressing CSOs. Kansas City Water Services has worked diligently to develop partnerships, engaging all plan stakeholders in a joint effort to fulfill the program’s commitments as well as its promise to maximize the economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with the Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project.

Speakers

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells is the manager of watershed programs for NEORSD. She coordinates watershed management efforts across district programs, including applying stormwater control measures to CSO control through the district’s green infrastructure program and implementing watershed management and stream restoration projects across its 62 member communities. She chairs the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (NACWA’s) Stormwater Management Committee and is vice chair of the Urban Water Sustainability Council of the U.S. Water Alliance. Kyle received her bachelor of science degree in biology summa cum laude from Ohio State University and her master’s degrees in public affairs and environmental science with honors from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa and, before joining NEORSD, was director of Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc.

Andy Shively attended the University of Missouri at Columbia and obtained his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He is a licensed engineer and has worked for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, for 20 years. He currently serves as the engineering officer in the city's Water Services Department and is responsible for planning and engineering water and wastewater utility capital improvements. His work experience includes administrative responsibilities, including design and construction of water and wastewater improvements and implementing the city’s $4.5 billion overflow control program. Andy is an Envision Sustainability Professional credentialed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and enjoys collaborating with design professionals, contractors, government officials, and other stakeholders for the benefit of his fellow Kansas citizens.