Camden County, New Jersey frequently experiences combined sewer flooding during intense rain events. Camden SMART Initiative, a partnership of local government, state environmental agency, local universities and local nonprofits, promotes a network of green infrastructure programs and projects throughout the county. Projects like urban greening, rain gardens and stream daylighting were implemented.
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Nature-Based Solutions Case Study Search
This database contains over 400 implementations of nature-based solutions. Use the filters to identify the case studies most relevant to you.
While all cases here exemplify applications of NBS strategies, they were gathered from various sources and not all were written using the framing of nature-based solutions. To qualify as a nature-based solution, a project must provide benefits to both people and nature. In some instances, the human benefits are present but not emphasized in the case write ups; these cases were included because they still provide useful information to learn from.
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Due to extreme flooding events and excessive nitrogen levels in the Cedar River Watershed, the City of Cedar Rapids led the Middle Cedar Partnership Project to reduce nutrient runoff and improve soil health. The partnership collaborated with local farmers, landowners, and conservation organizations to implement strategies to reduce nutrient runoff, mitigate flood risk, and improve soil health.
The Portland Water District conducted a green-gray analysis to compare natural versus gray infrastructure for an EPA-granted filtration system to improve Sebago Lake's water quality. They ultimately chose to invest in forest-based natural infrastructure, including restoring riparian buffers and reforesting riparian zones.
The City of Ann Arbor recognized stormwater runoff as a growing threat to the quality of their water supply in the Huron River. To protect the city’s drinking water and reduce downstream impact of the pollution, they designed two financial incentives.
Just south of Atlanta’s busy Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Clayton County seems like an obvious place for metropolitan growth. But more homes and businesses mean a higher demand on the county’s limited water supplies. Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) chose to construct treatment wetlands to increase water supply.