Catching Carbon, Water, and Nutrients: Comprehensive Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design

Abstract

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is low-impact landscaping that has been implemented in cities around the world to help mitigate the negative effects of stormwater. In American municipalities, the regulations and design standards around GSI focus almost solely on stormwater volume control. This thesis explores a new strategy to design the next generation of GSI to maximize the co-benefits especially in the context of climate change and environmental protection. The design methodology was developed based on three performance standards beyond flood control: carbon sequestration potential, nitrogen & phosphorus removal, and stormwater volume control. Using data from current literature, design characteristics of GSI that directly correlate to the aforementioned performance standards are identified, discussed, and used to create a more comprehensive GSI design methodology. The resulting design methodology highlights the potential for maximizing several performance standards for GSI and what that implementation would look like using Princeton University campus as a case study.