Green Infrastructure Planning Resources
†To obtain Power Point versions of PDFs marked with a dagger, please contact the CCCWP at cleanwater@pw.cccounty.us or 925-313-2360.
*To obtain Word or Excel document versions of documents marked with an asterisk, please contact the CCCWP at cleanwater@pw.cccounty.us or 925-313-2360
The latest Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP 3.0) Provision C.3.j. requires Bay Area municipalities to implement their Green Infrastructure (GI) Plans. The previous Permit (MRP 2.0) required municipalities to develop these GI Plans to outline how Low Impact Development drainage design will be included in storm drain infrastructure.
Each municipality's GI Plan describes how, over the long term, the municipality will shift their streets, roads, storm drains, parking lots, and building roofs from conventional “gray” storm drain infrastructure—where runoff flows directly into storm drains and then to creeks and the Bay/Delta—to a more resilient, sustainable system that slows runoff by dispersing it to vegetated areas, promotes infiltration, and uses bioretention to clean runoff.
The Plans include the following elements:
- Targets for the amount of impervious surface to be retrofitted by 2020, 2030, and 2040
- Prioritized projects and areas for potential projects for implementation
- Process for tracking and mapping completed projects
- Updates to planning documents (General Plans, Storm Drain Master Plans, Complete Streets Plans, etc.)
- Design guidelines
- Standard specifications and details
- Evaluation of funding options
- Policies and ordinances needed to implement
- Outreach and education
Most Contra Costa municipalities’ GI Plans were submitted to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board in September 2019. The cities of Antioch, Oakley, and Brentwood submitted their GI Plans in September 2020. Municipalities were also required to review their current infrastructure projects, identify and prioritize where Green Infrastructure could be incorporated (“no missed opportunities”), and include a workplan for completing prioritized projects.
With MRP 3.0, Permittees continue to implement and update their GI Plans as needed, to incorporate lessons learned, and to ensure that municipal processes and ordinances allow and encourage appropriate implementation of green infrastructure.
Resources
Green Infrastructure (GI) Project Planning and Design
Here are some useful guidance manuals, design examples, and engineering details:
- Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP)
- Contra Costa Stormwater C.3 Guidebook (CCCWP, 2022)
- Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA)
- BASMAA Urban Greening Typical Green Infrastructure Details (PDF) (BASMAA, 2017)
- BASMAA Guidance for Sizing Green Infrastructure Facilities in Street Projects (PDF)
- PLEASE NOTE: Reduced sizing can only be used for road reconstruction projects that follow requirements outlined in MRP 3.0 Provision C.3.b.ii (5)(c), or that are non-regulated projects under C.3.b.
- San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board staff provided conditional acceptance of this guidance in a June 21, 2019 letter (PDF)
- Additional BASMAA Development Committee resources can be found at the BASMAA Development Committee Programs and Projects webpage (BASMAA | basmaa.org)
- Central Coast Low Impact Development Institute (LIDI)
- National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
- SFPUC Stormwater Management Requirements and Design Guidelines (PDF) (SFPUC, May 2016)
- Appendix B: Green Infrastructure Typical Details and Specifications (PDF) (SFPUC, September 2016)
- SFPUC Stormwater Management Requirements and Design Guidelines (PDF) (SFPUC, May 2016)
- Other
Maintenance of Green Infrastructure Facilities
- City of San Jose Green Stormwater Infrastructure Field Guide
Public Outreach
CCCWP’s outreach efforts to promote Green Infrastructure have included the following:
- Presentation to the American Public Works Association (PDF)† Northern California Chapter Conference, November 6, 2019
- Presentation to the Contra Costa City/County Engineering Advisory Committee (PDF)†, January 17, 2019
- Presentation to Contra Costa Planning Directors (PDF)†, January 11, 2019
- Presentation to the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) Quarterly Meeting, May 10, 2018
- Presentation to Contra Costa Planning Directors (PDF)† at the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, May 10, 2018
- Presentation on Green Infrastructure Planning as part of CCCWP’s April 24, 2018 C.3 Workshop for Municipal Staff and Land Development Professionals
- Presentation to the East Bay Municipal Engineers, November 9, 2016
Costs
- Memorandum, Green Infrastructure Cost Estimation Methodology (PDF), Geosyntec Consultants, November 28, 2018
Funding
In April 2018, BASMAA published a Roadmap of Funding Solutions for Sustainable Streets (PDF). Funded by a USEPA grant and managed by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, the roadmap includes specific actions designed to improve the availability of funding for Green Infrastructure Projects in the Bay Area and statewide.
Laura Prickett of Horizon Water and Environment prepared a memo (PDF) that includes a summary of the Regional Roundtable process that led to preparation of the Roadmap.
Early Implementation/No Missed Opportunities
- Guidance for Identifying Green Infrastructure Potential in Capital Improvement Projects (PDF) (Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association Development Committee, May 6, 2016)
Green Infrastructure Plan Preparation--Contra Costa Clean Water Program
- Fact Sheet and Update for Municipal Staff -- Preparing Green Infrastructure Plans (PDF)
- Green Infrastructure Planning and Implementation Workshop, September 26, 2018
- Green Infrastructure Plan Template (PDF)*
- Green Infrastructure Planning Tasks, Roles, and Timeframes (PDF)
- Presentation Template: Developing a Green Infrastructure Plan for... (PDF)
Permittee Shared Resources for Green Infrastructure Plan Preparation
Staff and consultants who prepared Permittees' local Green Infrastructure Plans assisted each other by sharing draft text, references, and other resources.
- Draft generic text for Plan sections (PDF)* addressing Provision C.3.j.i.(2)(a), ("a mechanism... to prioritize and map areas for potential and planned projects..."; this text describes the development of project lists through the Contra Costa Watersheds Storm Water Resources Plan), and addressing Provision C.3.j.i.(2)(d), ("A process for tracking and mapping completed projects, public and private, and making the information publicly available; also addresses C.3.j.iv.). This text was prepared by Geosyntec Consultants for the City of Walnut Creek.