This project will expand and accelerate the development of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) in Great Lakes communities by lowering its cost, opening innovative sources of financing, and providing a repeatable delivery model.  The impact of this will be substantial: 10,000 new acres of GSI in the Great Lakes basin driven by the tools and approaches from this project have the potential to retain 8 billion gallons of stormwater each year along with 130 million pounds of sediment, 660,000 pounds of nitrogen and 54,000 pounds of phosphorous (derived from the results of GSI implementation in Prince George’s County, MD Clean Water Partnership program, https://thecleanwaterpartnership.com/).

The team will recruit municipal leaders, stormwater experts, and finance professionals to form a Great Lakes Resiliency and Finance Cluster – a self-sustaining and permanent network of professionals that will continue supporting Great Lakes communities beyond the project term. The Cluster will do the critical, foundational work that will make it easier for Great Lakes communities to implement GSI.  This will include:

• Creating a portfolio of GSI templates for design, construction, maintenance and monitoring;
• Developing strategies to aggregate projects within and across communities to access economies of scale;
• Collaborating with Great Lakes communities to support their GSI initiatives;
• Executing financial transactions to support the development of GSI in Great Lakes communities; and,
• Creating a financial playbook for communities to reduce the cost of both traditional and innovative financing options.

If successful, this project will increase the adoption of GSI as a strategic alternative to building and replacing grey infrastructure.