By Shannon Madden

New construction provides a perfect opportunity for integrating green infrastructure in building design, and that’s exactly what’s happening at a new two-flat at Gresham and Barry avenues in Logan Square. The comprehensive design will manage stormwater well from the beginning, reducing runoff by roughly 1,060 gallons per 1” storm and preventing about 38 pounds of suspended solids from entering the combined sewer system each year.

An extensive green roof and rooftop lounge illustrate how stormwater management and functional space go hand in hand. Thanks to LiveRoof trays, a modular system of light-weight, vegetated units, precipitation will nourish plants instead of running directly off the roof. Gravel on the rest of the roof provides additional stormwater storage capacity and creates a usable lounge area for residents. In addition to capturing much of the building’s runoff, rooftop gardens and green roofs like this can reduce the costs of heating and cooling buildings – an added benefit of rooftop green infrastructure.

The property will have ground-level green infrastructure, too. Four rain barrels will collect additional runoff from the roof. The downspouts on the south side of the building will convey water to rain barrels, where it can be used to irrigate native plants and rain gardens in front of and behind the home. Deep-rooted native plants and soils enriched with mulch and compost will infiltrate and store excess precipitation, again reducing runoff.

Once the building is fully constructed this summer, Environments Studio and its contractors will begin installing the green infrastructure. By fall, residents of the brand new home will be able to lounge on the rooftop and see beautiful native plants outside their windows – all while providing the Logan Square community with a little respite from stormwater woes.

By Shannon Madden

Kristen and Bill have been excited about the environmental, aesthetic and community benefits of the Milwaukee Avenue Green Development Corridor, and we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve approved their Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant proposal!

The Logan Square residents worked with Environments Studio to plan rain gardens, native plants and permeable paving throughout their front and back yards. Here’s how the front yard will look:

The house’s two disconnected downspouts, one each in the front and back of the house, will first convey stormwater through a gravel channel, where solids and particulates will settle. Water then will flow into a rain garden to nourish native plants and infiltrate into the ground. An additional 380 square feet of permeable paving will capture and slow the majority of water that falls on its surface.

Kristen and Bill also will plant buffalo grass in the back yard to capture additional stormwater. Buffalo grass is native to the Midwest, which means that it’s evolved to thrive with the amount of precipitation we typically receive in this region and it can store water in deep root systems to withstand drought. For homeowners, the benefit of native plants like buffalo grass, Brown-eyed Susans and Purple Prairie Clover is that they are both attractive and they don’t require watering once they are fully grown.

In addition to stormwater runoff from the house, Kristen and Bill will collect water from the carport roof. There, a downspout will collect runoff in a rain barrel, which will be used to water plants until they are stable enough to survive by retaining enough water in their own roots.

All told, the green infrastructure in this project will reduce stormwater runoff by about 700 gallons per 1” of precipitation.

These smart applicants also plan to use the Chicago Sustainable Backyards Program, which provides rebates for trees, native plants and rain barrels. Leveraging funds in this way makes the project more affordable for the homeowners and their partners.

After about a week of construction, this project will be ready in June. Educational signage in front of the property will help showcase this green infrastructure project to pedestrians traveling along Allen Street. Let us know what you think as you walk by!

By Shannon Madden

Upcoming best management practices at a condo building on north Washtenaw Avenue will help infiltrate stormwater through rain gardens, native plants, permeable paving and an engineered slope to capture and slow runoff. Approved for Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant funding in March, this project will significantly slow stormwater from reaching the combined sewer system. With all green infrastructure elements combined, this property will capture around 450 gallons of water during a 1” storm and will prevent more than 40 pounds of suspended solids from entering the sewer each year!

Let’s break down those volume estimates a bit. By disconnecting four downspouts and collecting water in four 55-gallon rain barrels, this property can collect 220 gallons for watering potted plants. Then when the rain barrels are full, a hose will allow the overflow to go toward rain gardens and native plants. Replacing impervious pavement with porous pavers will collect an additional 250 gallons per 1” of rainfall.

The biggest impact will come from converting the existing lawn to a rain garden, native plantings and a grass strip. This will create storage capacity for over 450 gallons of water per 1” storm. Working with designers at Environments Studio, the applicant chose species with deep roots that are known to hold a lot of water. Native sedges and forbs can thrive in wet environments, and, at the same time, they tend to resist drought because of their ability to store water in their roots for dry periods.

By connecting two small rain gardens with a trench and using plenty of deep-rooted plants to soak up excess precipitation, this project shows how you can link several areas to maximize stormwater infiltration. The extensive use of green infrastructure throughout the property means that little water is expected to run off – a great benefit to Logan Square’s residents who have dealt with their share of flooding.

With a tentative start date of June 19, the condo association hopes to put the finishing touches on the project by the end of June. Then residents will be rewarded with a new common area that is functional, aesthetically pleasing and (bonus!) eases the burden on neighborhood sewers. We can’t wait to see how it turns out!

By Shannon Madden

We’ve approved another grant that will make a big difference in how one Logan Square resident manages stormwater.

Currently, all rainwater and snow that lands on Keith’s 3,400 sq. ft. roof goes to three downspouts – each of which directs water to small landscaped areas or concrete surfaces. In a storm that dumps 1″ of rain on Chicago, more than 2,000 gallons of water fall on a roof that size, in most cases on the fast track to the city sewer.

Now, thanks to the Milwaukee Avenue Green Development Corridor program, Keith will use Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant funding to redirect all of that roof water toward bioswales (shallow ditches, often with rocks or native plants, that direct and filter water) and a rain garden in the front yard.

One of the most unique elements of Keith’s home improvement project is the garden area in the middle of the yard. A permeable gravel area with a few chairs will create a nice space for friends to gather, surrounded by a new semicircular rain garden and the yard’s existing plants.

The designers at Environments Studio, which helped Keith design his new yard, also considered water quality in this project. Because parking areas tend to have a lot of oil, grease, hydrocarbons and metals from our cars and trucks, Keith decided to change the grade of the gravel parking area to direct excess runoff toward 2′ filter strips, which will help keep gravel in the parking area and improve water quality by filtering water.

Rain barrels, a gravel infiltration trench and additional native gardens on both sides of the house complete the project. You can see in the illustration below how Keith and the landscape architects and will creatively use space on this uniquely shaped property.

Altogether, green infrastructure on this property will capture up to 925 gallons of water in a 1” storm. Construction will begin in mid-May, and we look forward to seeing the finished project in early June. Stay tuned for photos and updates!

By Shannon Madden

Kansas City became the first in the country to incorporate green infrastructure in its official stormwater plans. To uphold its consent decree with the U.S. EPA and address past violations of the Clean Water Act, the City will capture and treat 88% of combined sewer overflows, according to Kansas City Councilmember Jan Marcason. A lot of this will be achieved with the same best management practices being implemented in the Milwaukee Avenue Green Development Corridor.

Lacking federal and state funding to repair traditional infrastructure (i.e., sewer mains and detention basins), Kansas City citizens like those on the Wet Weather Panel successfully advocated for green infrastructure. Projects so far have included 64 rain gardens, 30 bio-retention cells, and permeable sidewalks. So far, the City has saved about $10 million over the estimated cost of storing stormwater in conventional underground tanks. Private property owners are saving, too: owners who implement green infrastructure can receive 75% off of Kansas City’s stormwater fee (which averages $2.50/month and funds the City’s Wet Weather Solutions Program).