The Rain Guardians of San Francisco
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is implementing Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) to foster community engagement and encourage San Franciscans to take an active role in improving their neighborhood.
Over the next 20 years, SFPUC will implement BGI along with grey infrastructure to manage stormwater across the city’s eight urban watersheds and ensure a sustainable sewer system for future generations.
This is part of the Urban Watershed Assessment which will identify BGI(rain gardens, permeable pavement, and bioswales) and grey infrastructure (pipes, tunnels, and pump stations) solutions to the city’s sewer system challenges.
In addition to public input, SFPUC will ensure the projects are of maximum value through the use of a Triple Bottom Line analysis tool that will assess each project’s community, environmental, and economic benefits. Some immediate benefits identified from implementing BGI include improving streets for cyclists and pedestrians, creating open public spaces, and beautifying neighborhoods.
Rain Guardians program
To maximise the benefits of its BGI, foster community engagement, and ensure they are effectively managed, SFPUC has launched the Rain Guardians program, similar to the utility’s Adopt-A-Drain program, which enables San Francisco residents or businesses to become ‘guardians’ of SFPUC’s new rain gardens.
Rain gardens are a BGI solution that uses the natural processes of soils and plants to slow down and purify stormwater as well as keep it from overwhelming the City’s sewer system. Rain gardens are typically depressed below the street level so stormwater can easily flow in and be treated by the plants and soils. With rain gardens often becoming a depository for rubbish year-round, Rain Guardians will regularly remove the rubbish and report any other issues.
The take-out
Encouraging local ownership of blue-green infrastructure simultaneously enhances their effectiveness and beauty.
Join the New LinkedIn Groups:
Blue-Green Infrastructure: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10412555/
Circular Water Economy: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10416662/
Nature-Based Solutions: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10477203
