Tucson Green Stormwater Infrastructure Workshop Engages Local Stakeholders
Tucson’s forceful monsoon rains make stormwater management a high priority. But the aridity of the Southwest demands water conservation. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) meets both of these needs by reducing precipitation-related flooding, pollution, and erosion while allowing for urban water storage. GSI takes a variety of forms in Tucson, including vegetated bioswales, rain barrels, curb cuts, and water retention basins.
Despite the growth of GSI in Tucson over the past two decades, maintenance responsibilities remain unclear, hindering cooperation within the City of Tucson and the wider community, which has resulted in anger and frustration over incidences of mishandled GSI landscapes."
A stakeholder engagement workshop was held virtually recently to engage local stakeholders in a dialogue around GSI maintenance as part of a larger process to draft a GSI maintenance protocol for the city. This is the first step in a comprehensive process to bring municipal and citizen stakeholders to the table, to agree upon a shared GSI maintenance protocol, and to provide trainings in proper care of GSI landscapes for City and County staff and contractors that interact with GSI.
“We envision the GSI maintenance protocol to be a living document, to change and evolve over time as we learn more through trainings and practice,” said James MacAdam, the Superintendent of Tucson Water Public Information & Conservation Office Workshop participants included representatives from NGOs, neighborhood associations, the City of Tucson, Pima County, the University of Arizona, and local landscape contractors.
The workshop provided a space for a variety of stakeholders to share their perspectives and learn from each other while influencing Tucson’s future GSI maintenance policies. Participants connected on their shared experiences and their vision for a more sustainable Tucson. Topics of discussion involved vegetation, watering, soils, and community engagement.