GreenPlan-IT featured in the newsletter of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council
May 13, 2016
GreenPlan-IT, a toolset created in a collaboration with SFEP, US EPA, and local partners, has been featured in the newsletter of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council, which has in turn been distributed broadly to subscribers throughout the nation and beyond.
Planners in the San Francisco Bay Area can rely upon GreenPlan-IT, a free tool that is designed to support the cost-effective selection and placement of GI in urban watersheds. The GreenPlan-IT Toolkit comprises three tools: (a) a GIS-based Site Locator Tool to map and rank potential GI sites; (b) a Modeling Tool to determine baseline conditions and project runoff and pollutant load reduction from GI scenarios; and (c) an Optimization Tool that uses cost-benefit analysis to identify the best GI installation scenario within a watershed for achieving flow/load reduction goals. Tool outputs are used by municipalities to develop watershed master plans to guide future GI implementation to address water quality and quantity targets.
Currently used by the cities of San Mateo, San Jose, and Sunnyvale, it will soon be used by Oakland, Richmond, and other cities in the East Bay.
Associated Staff:
Programs and Focus Areas:
Clean Water Program
Sources, Pathways, & Loadings
Watershed Monitoring and Modeling
Environmental Informatics Program
Geographic Information Systems
Related Projects, News, and Events:
GreenPlan-IT (Project)
Green infrastructure (GI), such as permeable pavement, rain gardens, tree-well planters, or bioswales, can be used as cost-effective, resilient approaches to managing stormwater at its source while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits for your community. GreenPlan-IT is a versatile open-source toolset that helps aid municipalities with their efforts to plan and evaluate the placement of green infrastructure in the landscape and track the effectiveness of these installations in reducing stormwater run-off, PCB, and mercury in receiving waters.
GreenPlan-IT Toolbox evolving quickly to meet increased demand (News)
With the conclusion of the first round of funding for the Green Plan Bay Area project http://www.sfestuary.org/our-projects/water-quality-improvement/greenplanning/, SFEI produced GreenPlan-IT in collaboration with SFEP, a technical advisory committee, pilot partners, and BASMAA. GreenPlan-IT is an innovative planning tool to help municipalities evaluate multiple management alternatives for green infrastructure in the urban landscape.
SFEI's journal article on Green Stormwater Infrastructure featured as the Editor's Choice (News)
A team led by Dr. Jing Wu penned a paper in January on using Green Stormwater Infrastructure to protect the Bay from PCBs and other contaminants. "Optimal Selection and Placement of Green Infrastructure in Urban Watersheds for PCB Control" is now featured in the Editor’s Choice section of the Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment for the American Society of Civil Engineers.