Green Infrastructure Saves More Than Money
Before depaving 2,000 square feet of heat-trapping asphalt, a form of petroleum.
After the removal of pavement to create community greenspace and mitigate stormwater runoff.
Replacing Hardscape with Landscape Saves More than Money
Washington, DC was built on a square of land at the confluence of two rivers - the Potomac and the Anacostia. These rivers were once 40 feet deep with clear waters teeming with fish and buffered by acres of forest. Today it is illegal to swim in either the Anacostia or Potomac due to unsafe water quality and bacterial levels. However, after decades of work since the Clean Water Act of 1972 and new investments in stormwater management and green infrastructure, the goal of a fishable and swimmable Anacostia and Potomac by 2025 is in sight.
Green infrastructure is engineered greenspace that uses soil, trees, and vegetation to capture rain where it falls to reduce stormwater pollution. Stormwater pollution is the leading source of urban water pollution and is caused when rain falls on hardscapes like roofs and pavement, rather than landscapes like trees and vegetation, and creates runoff that carries trash, bacteria, oil, and other pollutants into our waterways. Pavement is the problem, and the solution is more trees and green infrastructure to naturally capture and store rain where it falls to prevent runoff.
Green Compass is investing to reduce stormwater pollution in underserved communities in the Anacostia watershed that have faced decades of disinvestment and discrimination. By installing turnkey green infrastructure in priority areas where stormwater flows untreated to the Anacostia river, Green Compass aims to spread awareness about the many economic and health benefits of urban trees and vegetation to increase air and water quality, lower energy and water bills by thousands of dollars, and help solve our climate crisis.
The District Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE)’s innovative Stormwater Retention Credit (SRC) program creates a business case to replace asphalt with greenspace. Our pilot project planted 32 trees and saves the church more than $13,000 a year in lower stormwater and sewer fees.
When the river suffers, so do the people who live near it.
The Anacostia was once called the most polluted river in the nation and some of the poorest areas in all of DC are located in the Anacostia watershed in wards 5, 7, and 8. The majority of residents are also Black- a fact that has contributed to the neglect and pollution of the Anacostia river. In 2018, the Anacostia river received its first passing health grade , moving from a “F” to a “D” grade, but it is still unsafe for swimming.
Meanwhile, the Potomac river moved from a “D” in 2011 to a “B” in 2018- it’s highest score ever. Communities in the Potomac watershed are some of the whitest and wealthiest in all of DC- a fact that has contributed to the prioritized investments and comeback of the Potomac river. While the Potomac is still unsafe after rain events, there are plenty of days where it is safe to swim and even an app called Swim Guide so people know when and where it is safe.
The differences between the two rivers reflect the deep links between racial justice, environmental health, and climate change. Low-income communities of color are less responsible for climate change yet are harmed disproportionately by air and water pollution, extreme heat, flooding, and displacement. Green infrastructure is a sustainable solution to invest resources to adapt communities that need the most protection from unequal impacts of climate change and unequal exposure to air and water pollution.
Maps of the Wards of the District of Columbia
Before voluntary green infrastructure was installed drainage was an issue for the church.
After green infrastructure was installed to improve drainage and capture stormwater before it enters the sewer system.
Banking on the Benefits of Green Infrastructure
Urban green spaces offer many benefits and for many people the trees in their neighborhood are the first contact with nature. However, access to urban green space and tree-lined streets favors wealthier neighborhoods. After a successful pilot project in Marshall Heights- a historic Ward 7 neighborhood where homeownership is declining, landlords rarely invest in green space, and urban tree canopy is low- Green Compass is working to scale and share the benefits of voluntary green infrastructure across wards 5, 7, 8 in the Anacostia Watershed:
Increase property value without displacing community members
Create local, green jobs
Restore wildlife habitat
Improve human health
(trees lower stress, blood-pressure, and pollution levels!)
Reduce utility bills
Improve water quality
Reduce flood risk
Reduce extreme heat risk
Improve air quality
Nature-based climate solution
During: Bioretention systems use layers of gravel and an underdrain to infiltrate stormwater within 72 hours to prevent mosquito breeding.
After: This bioretention system was designed to mitigate basement flooding, a recurring problem for the church and risk of climate change as severe rainstorms become more frequent.
A Unique Pilot Project and Public-Private Partnership
Green Compass worked with St. Luke Catholic Church to design, build, and maintain voluntary green infrastructure that captures and filters nearly 20,000 gallons of polluted stormwater per storm. The project installed 32 native shade trees, replaced 2,000 square feet of heat-trapping asphalt with 3 vegetated bioretention gardens and 590 plants- all at no cost to the church. Native trees and plants were carefully selected for their ability to survive wet, boggy conditions and long dry periods in between storms, but also for aesthetics to show something in bloom every season and to provide native habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies.
The project saves the church more than $13,000 a year in lower sewer and stormwater fees, while generating valuable Stormwater Retention Credits (SRCs). Voluntary green infrastructure projects are made possible through the District Department of Energy and Environment’s innovative stormwater regulations that require large construction or renovation projects to either install green infrastructure onsite or purchase SRCs from another project offsite.
To keep investments in the community, Green Compass hired a local ward 7 landscape contractor, TCG Property Care, for required maintenance. Green Compass also collaborated with local nonprofit, Casey Trees, for their expert tree selection and coordination to host a community tree planting event with volunteers from the church, because when a community comes together to create greenspaces that they are proud of, roots of change can take hold.
St. Luke Catholic Church’s Father Cornelius (left) and congregant Mr. Inocencio Quinones (right) joins Green Compass’s CEO Nicole Whalen at the community tree-planting event.
Congregant Mr. Tony Neils (left) and Casey Tree’s Urban Forester Paul Coraggio (right) at the community tree-planting event where 32 native trees were planted on church property.