Projects & Programs - Keep the Rain from the Drain

Green Infrastructure Planning and Implementation for Caldwell, NJ

Project description:

The Borough of Caldwell is approximately 1.1 square miles in size and located in Essex County.  The land use in Caldwell is predominately urban (92.2%).  Due to this urbanization and lack stormwater management to control runoff from Caldwell’s impervious surfaces, Caldwell suffers from localized flooding and poor water quality in its waterways.  The Caldwell Green Team wants to lead the effort to incorporate green infrastructure into the municipality to address stormwater management issues.  This will require plans to be developed.

This project is to conduct an impervious cover assessment (ICA) for Caldwell and develop a green infrastructure action plan and strategic plan.  These will be important tools to help Caldwell move forward with implementing green infrastructure practices throughout the municipality.  Impervious surfaces will be located and quantified in the ICA, and the runoff volumes associated with these impervious surfaces will be quantified.  The green infrastructure action plan will identify immediate and short-term green infrastructure projects to manage stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces.  The action plan will contain short-term goals that can be completed over the next five-years.  The green infrastructure action plan will also include a concept for three (or more) selected sites. The green infrastructure strategic plan will contain long-term goals for 5 to 20 years.  The strategic plan will include policy recommendations that enable Caldwell to incentivize and/or require green infrastructure. Such policy recommendations will include modifications to the municipal site plan review requirements, zoning code, or stormwater ordinance, etc.

The second part of this project will be to design and implement two green infrastructure projects.  Green infrastructure projects will include one or more of the green infrastructure practices shown in the Green Infrastructure Guidance Manual for New Jersey (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, downspout planters, stormwater planters, cisterns, permeable pavement, tree filter boxes, and green roofs).  The Caldwell Department of Public Works (DPW) will help install these two green infrastructure projects.  This will help reduce installation costs and train the DPW workers on how to install green infrastructure projects so they can continue to build projects into the future.

Links are provided to the impervious cover assessment (ICA), green infrastructure action plan, green infrastructure action plan web map, and the green infrastructure stategic plan completed to date for Caldwell.

 

 


Water Resources Program at Rutgers NJAES