A Tale of Two Cities.

• Position: Green infrastructure in Toledo, Ohio and Albany, New York

Toledo, Ohio, and Albany, N.Y., are two cities with aging sewer systems that have been forced to contend with stormwater and wastewater challenges. In response, these cities have implemented a series of green infrastructure projects as part of their long-term planning.

Toledo has a population of nearly 300,000 people and covers roughly 80 square miles, lying at a low and relatively flat elevation of 614 feet The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that, with the onset of climate change and the city's location on Lake Erie and the Maumee River, Toledo is particularly susceptible to flooding. The region around and including the city once was known as the Great Black Swamp--a significant wetland accustomed to heavy rain. Prior to development, the swamp helped absorb excess precipitation, but the city's buildings and pavements are more impervious.

According to NOAA, 9,370 acres or 92% of the surrounding watershed now is covered in paved materials. In addition, Toledo's wastewater infrastructure dates back to the 1860s, with one report estimating "approximately 20% of Toledo's existing sewer system is a combined sewer and stormwater system." These aging systems in Toledo continue to be challenged by the ever-increasing rainfall and extreme storm events. Between 1951-2017, the city experienced a 19.4% increase in rainfall.

To address overflow, the Environmental Protection Agency found the city had a "long-standing practice of discharging raw sewage into Swan Creek and the Maumee and Ottawa Rivers." In 2002, the EPA and the City of Toledo reached a settlement under the Clean Water Act to improve its wastewater treatment and transportation systems. At that time, the agency estimated that the improvements would eliminate "nearly 800,000,000 gallons of raw sewage overflows annually."

Under that agreement, from 2005-09, the city developed the Toledo Waterways Initiative (TWI) Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) for combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement. The Control Plan "recommended implementing sewer separation, storage basins or tunnels, green infrastructure, disinfection facilities, etc. as appropriate, for each CSO." By 2020, TWI had implemented more than 45 projects at a cost of approximately $529,700,000. Patekka Pope Bannister, chief of Water Resources for Toledo, stated in 2014 that "locally there is a perception that people see green infrastructure projects as things that happen on the East Coast or the West Coast, and we can show them that we have examples here."

NOAA and Toledo conducted research, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative administered under the EPA, to assess the cost and benefits of implementing green infrastructure to address flooding and overflows. Bannister and...