The resources below will help you – residents, businesses, developers, local institutions and expert practitioners – identify which green infrastructure tools might be right for you and how to see opportunities for green infrastructure in all kinds of everyday places – from rooftops to lawns to driveways to parking lots.
Learn More About Green Infrastructure
( best for everyone wanting to learn more)
- EPA scientists and engineers have spent years compiling resources and research on green infrastructure. These resources include a range of publications on green infrastructure from the scientific, regulatory, and development communities.
- The National Resource Defence Council’s Report Rooftops to Rivers provides 14 case studies for cities that are leaders in using green infrastructure to address the stormwater challenge.
- Explore what green infrastructure looks like in Buffalo. As part of Rain Check 1.0, Buffalo Sewer and its partners across government and in the community have completed a number of green infrastructure projects on roadways, parking lots and vacant lots across Buffalo. Take the online tour
Design and Construction Resources
(best for developers, institutions, contractors, and practitioners)
- Under Buffalo’s Green Code, all land development activity must manage construction and post-construction stormwater runoff. Article 7.3 of the Code lays out the specific provisions and Buffalo Green Code gives more information on the entire code.
- Depending on the size of your project, you might also be required to attain a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity. New York State DEC’s Construction Stormwater Toolbox provides links to sources of technical information needed to comply with DEC requirements and references that are useful for the design of stormwater management practices.
- The EPA’s National Stormwater Calculator can help estimate runoff for your particular site and project.
- Best Practices for Controlling Stormwater Runoff on Your Construction Site
Reimagining Your Spaces
(best for residents, businesses, and anyone with smaller sites)
- Parking Lots, Driveways, and Patios
- Permeable and Porous Surfaces include paver stones, pervious concrete, interlocking grids with gravel and pervious asphalt. These allow rain and snowmelt to pass through the surface and flow into the ground rather than into storm inlets on the sides of curbs.
- Resources for choosing and installing the best surfaces for your project:
- Rain Barrels
- Rain barrels capture and store stormwater runoff from roofs for outdoor household needs. Though not safe for drinking, this water can be used for other activities that would normally require using the tap, like watering plants or washing cars.Local resources to purchase and install a rain barrel can be found at:
- Yards and Landscaping
- Rain Gardens – These plant beds collect stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces like streets, parking lots, and sidewalks, allowing rain and snowmelt to absorb into soils rather than running off into sewers and eventually reaching our waterways. Resources to learn more about installing a rain garden at your home:
- http://www2.erie.gov/environment/sites/www2.erie.gov.environment/files/uploads/pdfs/ECS_Rain%20Garden%20Booklet.pdf
- https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain/soak-rain-rain-gardens
- https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/44330.html
- Tips for Routine Maintenance of your rain garden – https://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/wp-content/uploads/RainGardenRoutineMaintenance1.pdf
- Native Plants can be some of the best plants to include in your rain garden and landscaping. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper created a Native Plant Guide outlining plants native to this region – https://bnwaterkeeper.org/projects/nativeplantguide/
- Best Practices on Lawncare, Pesticide Use, and Landscaping – http://www2.erie.gov/environment/sites/www2.erie.gov.environment/files/uploads/water_lawncare.pdf
- Rain Gardens – These plant beds collect stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces like streets, parking lots, and sidewalks, allowing rain and snowmelt to absorb into soils rather than running off into sewers and eventually reaching our waterways. Resources to learn more about installing a rain garden at your home:
- Vacant Lots
- Baltimore’s Green Pattern Book provides ideas and tools for greening vacant lots –https://www.baltimoresustainability.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Green_Pattern_Book.pdf
- Detroit’s Field Guide to Working with Lots provides step-by-step instruction for 35 landscape designs ranging from installation by beginning gardeners to professional contractors. The Guide includes designs for a range of budgets, maintenance levels, and experience to help transform vacant lots into community assets that help meet the stormwater challenge. https://dfc-lots.com/assets/construction-packages/DFC_Field_Guide_Web-1.pdf
- Homeowner Guides and How-to Manuals
- A Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater Management from New Hampshire. This guide helps give homeowners ideas for meeting the stormwater challenge through step-by-step instructions on installing various green infrastructure tools.
- Montgomery County, MD provides a range of installation ideas and resources for do-it-yourselfers and landscape practictioners,
Educational Resources
(best for educators and everyone wanting to learn more)
- The Water Cycle Song — a Water Cycle Video that introduces the Water Cycle, including Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation.
- Stormwater Educators Toolbox –
- An enormous database of programs and curriculum for stormwater management and other environmental topics
- Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Water Academy is a college-level course designed to introduce the community to environmental issues and proactive solutions currently being implemented in the Niagara River watershed.
- The Water Environment Federation is a not-for-profit association that provides technical education and training for thousands of water quality professionals who clean water and return it safely to the environment.
- A Drop’s Life – The Sequel – this animated tale explains how green infrastructure works in in Washington DC through the eyes of the raindrops falling on the City.
- WaterWORX is a Rain Check educational program that took place in 2017 in partnership with CAO.
Career and Jobs Resources
(best for residents and those looking to enter a career in green infrastructure)
- National Green Infrastructure Certification Program –
Initiated under the leadership of DC Water and the Water Environment Federation, the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP) sets national certification standards for green infrastructure (GI) construction, inspection, and maintenance workers. Designed to meet international best practice standards, the certification advances the establishment of sustainable communities by promoting GI as an environmentally and economically beneficial stormwater management option, supporting the development of proficient green workforces, and establishing a career path for skilled GI workers. - The New York Water Environment Association aims to engage young professionals in the water environment industry through networking events and continuing education programs..