Program Overview
Green Infrastructure (GI) captures, absorbs and stores rain and melting snow. GI can take on numerous shapes and sizes from rain barrels to trees, porous pavers for parking lots to green roofs that top buildings and bioswales lining city streets.
The City of Milwaukee is committed to increasing its Green Infrastructure through capital improvements, managed by the Storm Water group.Check out the GI projects planned for 2024 on our Project Map.
Project Map
For contractors or developers in need of GI Plan or GI Recertification resources, please visit the Storm Water Management Program page.
Types of Green Infrastructure
There are many types of GI strategies, as Fresh Coast Guardians shares. In its capital improvement program, the City of Milwaukee utilizes the following strategies in its GI projects:
Permeable Pavement - Permeable Pavement is a porous, urban surface composed of open pore pavers, concrete, or asphalt with an underlying stone reservoir. Permeable pavement catches precipitation and surface runoff, storing it in the reservoir while slowly allowing it to infiltrate into the soil below or discharge via a drain tile.
Bioswales - Bioswales are vegetated landscape features that collect stormwater runoff, soak it into the ground, and filter out pollution. Often used in urban areas, bioswales are designed to capture runoff from impervious surfaces like streets and parking lots.
Stormwater Trees - Stormwater Trees help soak rainwater into the ground or hold it on their leaves and branches until it evaporates. They can be used in conjunction with engineered soils and other types of green infrastructure and work best when they’re mature (and so are not a quick fix to stormwater issues). Stormwater trees also act as ‘carbon sinks’ which means they soak up carbon dioxide, one of the main gasses that contribute to climate change.
Rain Gardens - Rain Gardens help reduce water pollution by collecting rain mainly from roofs, driveways, or other hard surfaces, and absorbing the water into the ground naturally. They are typically planted with wildflowers or native plants that have deep roots, which help to soak up more water. They can be placed near downspouts on homes (although away from building foundations and sewer laterals), and offer many benefits.
Bioswale in a median