A Guide to Assessing Green Infrastructure Costs and Benefits for Flood Reduction

To plan successfully, communities need to understand the options for addressing flood-related issues and their associated costs. This guide lays out a six-step watershed-based approach for documenting the costs of flooding, projecting increased flooding and associated costs under future land use and climate conditions, and calculating the long-term benefits and costs of a green infrastructure approach.

The guide draws from four case studies (Duluth, Minnesota; Toledo, Ohio; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and He‘eia, Hawaii) to provide key considerations, recommended expertise, practical implementation tips, and lessons learned.

The following resources can help you work through specific steps from the guide.

• Green Infrastructure Options to Reduce Flooding provides green infrastructure techniques, benefits, limitations, and tips on how to estimate floodwater storage potential and costs.
• The Data Checklist is a list of data used to conduct an economic assessment.
• Economic Assessment of Green Infrastructure Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation: Pilot Studies in the Great Lakes Region is a detailed study that serves as the foundation for the guide.
• Use this story map to help others understand the impacts of flooding and green infrastructure in the Great Lakes.
• Download sample posters from two of the pilot study communities, Toledo and Duluth, for ideas on how to share information with residents about flooding issues and green infrastructure solutions.
• Read more about the studies in Toledo and Duluth in the summer 2015 edition of Clear Waters magazine.