Building Resilient Communities: Tucson, Arizona

Evan Canfield

SECOND COMMUNITY SUMMIT ON GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 26-28, 2014

1912 – Well Drilled in Santa Rosa Village The chief asked that the thing be ignored. Water must be lugged for miles in the heat “in order that the Papagos might continue their old life.”*

Tohono O’odham Story Stick * Killing the Hidden Waters, Charles Bowden, 1977

Applicable Goal Demand Management Goal #5: Increase the use of rainwater and stormwater to reduce demands on potable supplies. Action Plan Demand Management Action Plan #7: Develop Design guidelines for neighborhood stormwater harvesting to encourage the creation of habitat and water efficient landscapes.

‘Harvestable’ Water (Rainwater/Stormwater) i.e. water yield

Slide from Sandy Bolduc RLA

We can tell people that trees in Depressed Planting Areas are 30% Larger (Pavao-Zuckerman et al. 2011)…

Or show them a project that harvests water off a parking lot…

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and water off the street...

.. and install a griffin named Toby..

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to create a shaded walking area.

Who, what, where, when, why, how and ….lessons learned

Effect of GI/LID on Flood Peak Reduction

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Modeled Effect on Flood Mitigation (0.8 ac watershed, 80% impervious, harvesting 1.5”)

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Graph: Impact Infrustructure, LLC AutoCASE final report 7-2014

The Business Case: AutoCASE Stormwater Beta Testing

Graph of 8 elements

• Highest Beneficial GI features • Water Harvesting Basin /

Infiltration Basin • Xeriscape Swale • Infiltration trench

• Not as cost Beneficial GI

features • Pervious Pavers/Porous

Pavement • Cistern • Biorention

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Commercial Site

Commercial Site Beneficiaries

• The government, community, and environment all benefit from the use of GI/LID features

• The government has lower need for irrigation, higher economic activity (reduced heat mortality rates) and lower health costs (lower air pollution)

• The community also benefits from lower mortality rates and better health

• The environment benefits from reduced pollution and carbon emissions

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Direct Financial Value 47%

Government or Taxpayer

26% User / Target-Beneficiary or

Customer Service

1%

Economic or

Business Activity

0%

Environmental 9%

Community or Other 17%

Stakeholder Breakdown of Value - Commercial Site

Commercial Site Benefits

• Heat related mortality largest benefit

• Air pollution - CO, SO2, NO2, PM, O3

• CO2 •Most Likely: $24 (IWGSCC 2010)

•Low: $14 (Nordhaus 2011)

•High: $115 (Stern 2006)

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Reduced Flood Risk 5%

Change in Property Values

3%

Reduced Heat Stress Mortality

57%

Value of Reduced CO2 Emissions

12%

Value of Reduced Air Pollution

21%

Reduced Direct Costs of Water

1%

Reduced Marginal Social Costs of

Water Use 1%

Net Present Value of Benefits - Commercial Site

•GI/LID Practices are beneficial to Tucson/Pima County even though we do not have combined sewers.

•Tucson/Pima County use regulatory, and non-regulatory approaches to encourage the adoption of GI/LID practices.

•Though Pima County is a water-scarce region, the benefits provided by GI/LID appear to have a greater financial benefit than the water itself.

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Acknowledgements

July 22, 2012 Footer text here 18

Tamara Mittman Jamie Piziali

Martina Frey Jason Wright

Lynn Orchard Akitsu Kimoto Sandy Bolduc

Irene Ogata

Mead Mier

John Wise

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Pima County LID Working Group Website: http://webcms.pima.gov/cms/one.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=65263 Business Case Evaluator for Stormwater Management Website: http://impactinfrastructurellc.com/blog/?p=233 Economic Companion Tools to Envision (BCE; Manual; BCE Example) – ISI Website: https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/downloads/index.cfm