Originally presented at StormCon 2023. Purchase all 28 sessions here.
Green Stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has mainly been focused on water quality improvement as part of TMDL or Watershed Protection Plans implementation. Despite abundant scientific evidence of the effectiveness of GSI, its widespread adoption in municipalities has not occurred. Reasons for this lack of adoption mainly point to institutional failures to estimate the cost of GSI, plan and budget for maintenance and lack of community involvement in implementation decisions. Research and engagement activities to increase GSI adoption that are occurring in the DFW Metroplex will be presented. These include the development of a modeling methodology to identify undersized drainage networks and targeting these watersheds for GSI prioritization; the development of a manual to encourage municipalities to integrate GSI into Hazard mitigation plans; developing a “Green Asset Management” approach for sustainable maintenance and funding of GSI and roadmap to engage communities in selection and monitoring of GSI practices to inform city maintenance and implementation plans. The presentation will also address collaboration between academic institutions, water districts, council of governments, NGOs and civic groups that could increase the adoption of GSI. Most of these programs address transferability as well as scalability so that other communities can adopt the same approaches.
About the Presenter
Dr. Fouad Jaber is a professor and integrated water resources management extension specialist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Dr. Jaber received BSc and MSc in agriculture and irrigation engineering from the American University of Beirut in 1992 and 1995. He received his Ph.D. in 2001 in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue University with emphasis in Natural and Environmental Resources Engineering. Dr. Jaber worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2007, after which he joined Texas A&M AgriLife. He has received the 2016 Standards Development Award from ASABE, the 2014 Blue Ribbon Award from The American Society for Horticultural Sciences Southern Region, and the 2011 Blue Ribbon Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Course Includes
- 1 Lesson
- Course Certificate
