Ecosystem Services

The management of our stormwater and wastewater can benefit both us and nature.

The appropriate strategy will result in clean rivers and streams, create outdoor recreational opportunities close to home, reduce flooding, and improve wildlife habitat. The wetlands and parks in our neighborhoods manage stormwater as well as wastewater and are as important as the roads, sewers and schools to our region's quality of life.

Green infrastructure is cost-efficient and in the long run reduces ratepayers costs. It also supports local jobs.

In our region, we appreciate parks, rivers and streams not only for their beauty, wildlife and opportunities to play and rest but also for their assistance in the good functioning of our urban infrastructure. We are finding new ways to bring water into and out of our houses and buildings that are cheaper to build, friendlier to local critters, and may even enhance property values. As early as 1989, longtime Portland activist (and current director of the Urban Greenspaces Institute) Mike Houck has noted that wetlands and open spaces should be considered “greenfrastructure” and are just as important for the well-being and functionality of our neighborhoods as the more traditional roads, pipes and sewers that are commonly identified with infrastructure. Twenty years of research on this concept support his argument. Trees, wetlands and native plants, which for years have been pushed out of our cities, are increasingly viewed as best management practice to “control stormwater, mitigate urban heat islands and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.”

 

Increasingly, urban vegetation is viewed as a best management practice to control stormwater, mitigate urban heat islands, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions and air pollution. — PSU Aging report

 

The preservation of land near lakes and rivers can also help improve water quality; for example, by preserving land near Fanno Creek, we can keep the rivers downstream, the Tualatin, Willamette and Columbia, healthier for recreation and cleaner for native species. Using nature to absorb stormwater is not only sustainable, it is also tremendously cost-effective; the City of Tigard’s Going Green project will create a more distinctive downtown area with a pedestrian friendly atmosphere while also producing immense savings.