The coral communities in Culebra were stressed by recognized erosion from an unpaved parking lot and road that had increased the volume of post-rainstorm runoff carrying pollutants. Community members managed to slow the flow of rainwater through erosion and sedimentation control, reforestation and habitat restoration through dune restoration, restoration of the line permanent vegetation, and delineation of vehicular and pedestrian access.

In 2001, downtown Houston, Texas, faced an historic 1,000-year flood as a result of Tropical Storm Allison, shutting down the 700-acre Texas Medical Center Complex. While rebuilding the Center to withstand future floods, Texas Medical Center implemented a stormwater management plan that increases green space and improves water absorption through advanced landscaping techniques and permeable paving systems.

City of Arlington constructed a 21-acre stormwater wetland park to treat stormwater from Old Town Arlington, clean backwash water from the City’s water treatment plant, and reclaim water from the City’s Water Reclamation Facility before infiltrating or discharging into the Stillaguamish River.

The City of Bloomington began a creek naturalization project in 2002 to address significant erosion caused by intense storm water pressure and to enhance biodiversity in a popular local park. Through partnerships with local organizations, the City reduced flooding impacts, improved water quality and increased plant and animal species diversity in the improvement area.

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. 

Planning with extreme weather thresholds catalyzes a $400,000 green infrastructure investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico. City staff partnered with NOAA and nonprofit organizations for a local resilience project that includes a demonstration rainwater harvesting facility and a green infrastructure assessment of the neighborhood.

After a 1995 extreme heat event that led to the deaths of several hundred residents, Chicago, Illinois conducted a heat vulnerability assessment. This assessment led to the creation of the Chicago Climate Change Action Plan, which first aimed to address extreme heat events. This led to mitigation efforts such as green roofs and cool pavements. 

County of Barnstable, Massachusetts encourages municipalities to take actions that lower flood risks, which can reduce flood insurance premiums by earning credits through the Community Rating System (CRS). In one project, 26 mosquito-control workers cleaned debris out of the 1,500 miles of ditches, pipers, and other conduits that channeled stormwater away from buildings and roads.

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), in an effort to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs), is implementing green stormwater infrastructure projects to reduce runoff. These projects include rain barrels, grassed swales, cisterns infiltration trenches, permeable pavements, increased tree cover, and rooftop greening. 

Clear Lake City, TX has a history of intense flooding from hurricanes and other storm events. Exploration Green is a project to transform a former 200-acre golf course into a public park and flood-control area. The park will have 5 detention basins to store floodwater during storm events. 

Faced with the decline of urban trees, concerned group formed an initiative to enhance urban tree that help reduce the impact from urban heat, heavy rainfall, and local flooding. Partnering with expert from U.S. Forest Service, the group assessed vulnerability of over 150 tree species in the region and implemented a project to protect native trees from pests and climate change.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation created the state’s first living shoreline at a freshwater, high-energy site. This living shoreline replaced a failing bulkhead, and provided the state with important information on freshwater living shorelines, sources of erosion, and stormwater management practices. The project owes some of its success to being small, non-controversial, and well-designed.  

The City of Gary initiated the “Vacant to Vibrant” project in 2014, which aimed to mitigate flooding due to aging sewer system. The project completed the construction of three sites in the Aetna neighborhood by 2016, converting 0.37 acres of vacant land into green infrastructure featuring bat houses, rain gardens, and native plantings.

Tuscon, Arizona faced stormwater management problems, with increased flooding and runoff, and degraded water quality. To address these issues and improve the urban tree canopy and recycle rainwater for irrigation, the city developed the Green Streets Active Practice Guidelines. This program requires integrating green infrastructure into all publicly funded roadway projects. 

As Milwaukee’s population grew, it faced increased stormwater flooding and sewer system overflows. In 2001, the Conservation Fund and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) launched a flood management program called Greenseams. The program protects wetlands and other lands containing water-absorbing soils by purchasing land and conservation easements from willing landowners. 

The Harbor Brook CSO 018 Constructed Wetlands Pilot Project serves the dual purposes of treating overflows from CSO 018, currently discharged into Harbor Brook, while also acting as a demonstration project to test the effectiveness of three types of constructed wetland treatment systems (floating wetland island, vertical down flow, and surface water treatment wetlands).

The Hassalo on Eighth community transformed a previously underdeveloped area—formerly a vast parking lot—into a vibrant, eco-friendly, 24-hour community minutes from downtown Portland. The development features green roofs, rainwater harvesting and treatment facilities, on-site wastewater treatment and reuse, infiltration systems, district energy, and natural daylighting.

Alachua County, Florida is facing increasing climate threats from flooding, storms, and droughts. The county government has worked to implement green infrastructure projects and policies to increase Alachua County’s resilience. The county has involved developers, landscapers, and community members to implement green stormwater projects on both public and private lands.  

Historical military-base landscape in Kansas introduced non-native ornamental shrubs and flowers that provide limited benefits to native pollinators and protection against flooding. In response to this, the USFWS partnered with McConnell Air Force Base (AFB) to plant native species and construct a nature-based stormwater management system.

The suburban city of Mount Rainer, Maryland aimed to restore the water quality Anacostia River, which was polluted by polluted stormwater runoff from urban and agricultural lands. The city developed Urban Green Infrastructure Plan to encourage community members to install nature-based stormwater control practices.