Recent Surveys Highlight Increased Demand for GSI Solutions

Jun 14, 2024 | Uncategorized

GSI Needs to Manage Stormwater in U.S. States & Territories Over the Next 20 Years

Two recent surveys highlight skyrocketing demand for GSI solutions both to meet regulatory requirements and to improve resiliency to climate change:

  1. ASLA’s Second National Survey on Climate Demand for Landscape Architecture Solutions to Climate Change.

Among them, ASLA’s Second National Survey on Client Demand for Landscape Architecture Solutions to Climate Change surveyed over 500 landscape architecture professionals in March 2024. Seventy percent of respondents reported at least a 10% increase in demand for nature-based solutions since the last time the survey was conducted in 2021. And what type of solution were respondents’ clients requesting the most? It is something near and dear to our hearts here at the Exchange: stormwater management to reduce flooding.

ASLA’s respondents noted that city and local governments are the foremost drivers of demand for climate planning and design projects. The organization’s CEO, Torey Carter-Conneen, noted that “it is heartening that more communities are looking to smart, nature-based solutions, that increase resilience, improve health and well-being, and provide economic benefits.” As to these economic benefits, 44 percent of respondents said that the top benefit was “avoided expected long-term climate damages.” And 75% noted that their projects created local planning, design, construction, management or maintenance jobs.

2. EPA’s Clean Watershed Needs Survey

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Watershed Needs Survey had a vastly greater number of respondents, with 17,500 publicly owned treatment providers across all 58 states and territories responding. It found that reported needs for stormwater management totaled $115.3 billion, an eye-popping 385% increase over the results of the last survey, conducted in 2012.

What’s driving the increase? One commenter highlighted stricter regulations at all levels of government. In addition, and with our nod to the results of the ASLA survey, above, there are the increasing impacts of climate change.

Among MS4 permittees who responded, three states accounted for half of all stormwater needs – Virginia, California, and Florida. Green infrastructure-related needs grew from 15% to 43% of total stormwater needs, the most dramatic of the increases measured from 2012 to 2024.  Andy Sauer, Chair of the Stormwater Community Policy, Governance, and Regulation Focus Group for the Water Environment Federation as well as the National Green Infrastructure Lead for Burns & McDonnell, explained the increase this way:

I think more communities are seeing the need to manage stormwater more as a resource and not always as waste. Therefore, many communities are implementing green infrastructure as part of sustainability initiatives to be more resilient and adaptable to climate changes. Managing stormwater closer to the source of runoff increases the functionality of existing systems while providing additional benefits, so I think the need for green infrastructure is going to continue to grow.

Increased demand underscores an even greater need to ensure that the GSI that gets implemented has lasting value, i.e., that it adheres to the highest standards and best practices, including centering community at every step of the way. Framing and elevating these standards and practices is among our most urgent priorities at the moment, as we develop a new Framework of GSI Practice and new GSI course offerings.

(We are indebted to ASLA’s account of its survey results in a this issue of The Dirt and to WEF’s excellent account of the EPA survey results in this issue of Stormwater Report for much of the foregoing information. Both are indispensable sources of current information on GSI practice and should be among the publications to which you subscribe).

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