By Craig Holland, Senior Director of Investment for Healthy Cities
and Jessie Israel, Puget Sound Conservation Director

Stormwater is a leading source of water pollution globally and is the only type of water pollution in the U.S. that is increasing. Much of this stormwater—or “runoff, ”often from parking lots, roads, roofs or other “impervious” surfaces—makes its way into stormwater retention ponds (ponds constructed to treat and store stormwater runoff), which number in the millions across the nation, before eventually flowing into our streams, reservoirs or bays.

To address this challenge—and this incredible opportunity—TNC and Opti, a technology company, began thinking of ways to use new, low-cost “smart” technologies to improve water quality by focusing on stormwater infrastructure. This thinking led to the creation of joint venture between TNC and Opti in 2018.

The joint venture, named Brightstorm, uses sensors and smart technology that analyzes weather forecasts and then proactively, remotely and autonomously controls water levels in stormwater retention ponds and other stormwater infrastructure. This approach, which allows stormwater to be held in the ponds for longer periods of time, has shown to produce significant and measurable improvements for water quality for two primary reasons:

• First, the plants and soil in these ponds filter excess nutrients that degrade water quality and can be toxic to people and animals.

• Second, more time in the ponds allows other pollutants—like heavy metals from cars, sediment, pesticides, herbicides or cleaning chemicals—to settle to the bottom of the ponds, which are periodically dredged and then the polluted dredge materials are safely disposed of.

On the flip side, this technology can help reduce flood risk for communities because the ponds can be emptied before big storms to create more flood storage. Additionally, flows from this smart infrastructure are managed in ways that more closely mimic natural conditions, which improves habitat for plants and animals and can reduce downstream erosion, often by 50 percent or more.

A Brighter Future for Stormwater in Washington

In 2021, Opti piloted several projects at stormwater retention ponds in Redmond. Monitoring and modeling at these sites show these “smart” ponds are performing twice as well as the existing ponds when it comes to the State of Washington’s flow-duration requirements—that is, it would take a pond twice the size of an Opti smart pond to meet these flow guidelines. Essentially, these requirements call for flows that are comparable to pre-development conditions, and they’re often aimed at reducing big pulses of water during storm events. Given this performance, Washington’s Technology Assessment Protocol-Ecology program recently approved Opti’s smart pond approach, prompting the City of Redmond to implement Opti’s software to improve flow duration at several of its stormwater retention ponds.

Brightstorm’s Win-Win-Win Appeal

TNC started this joint venture because Brightstorm’s mission to improve water quality and wildlife habitat and reduce flood risk matches TNC’s. We partnered with Opti because they’re a leader in this technology space, and we both recognize that the millions of stormwater retention ponds in the U.S.—combined with other stormwater infrastructure—gives us the opportunity to work at scale across the nation.

Most of our efforts to date and the prospects we’re exploring are on private land. That’s important because about 95 percent of urban and suburban land is privately owned. For instance, we installed this technology at three pilot project stormwater ponds owned by Walmart in Maryland. The appeal to Walmart was simple. They were able to make significant environmental improvements at and downstream of these sites, and they did so at no cost. That’s right, $0. Instead, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) funded the upgrades to Walmart’s ponds.  

MDOT did so because state agencies—and companies—are required when they develop land or build roads or parking lots to meet local, state and federal water-quality standards outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act. When they can’t do so on-site alone, they purchase credits to mitigate the effects of their development. MDOT purchased from Brightstorm credits that were created by the improvements in water quality at Walmart’s ponds.

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“These smart ponds are another innovative way we’re working to improve the communities we serve. We’re being responsible stewards of the environment while at the same time helping protect the infrastructure that supports our hard-working residents and businesses.”

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“Brightstorm allows us to deal with an acre of stormwater runoff for less than $40,000. The traditional approach cost us $150,000 an acre. So, this is going to save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.”

Every party involved—including the environment itself—benefitted. This was truly a win-win-win proposition and project, and the excitement at Brightstorm is that this is an approach that can be replicated thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, times over across the U.S. as we work to address the only growing source of water pollution here and around the world. 

Beyond our vast experience tied to water quality projects, a tremendous value TNC brings to the table is financing for the work. Essentially, we shift the risk to us and provide public agencies with a fully packaged credit that is based on performance in terms of price, pollution, flows, etc. Clients like MDOT only pay if we deliver what we outlined at the onset. But because of our firm, scientific-backed belief in this work and the results it produces, it’s a risk we’re willing to take, especially when we’re able to accelerate meaningful projects that might otherwise take years to get off the ground.

How does retention time help water quality? 

A typical city block generates more than five times the stormwater runoff of a forested area of the same size. Just 10 percent of impervious cover (e.g. paved parking lots or roads) in a watershed negatively affects a stream’s natural flow and functions. And when a stream is surrounded by 25 percent of impervious cover, it loses its ability to meet habitat, water quality and biological diversity standards. The main culprits behind this degradation are pollution in the runoff and the speed at which the stormwater enters streams, as nature itself doesn’t have time to filter out the excess nutrient pollutants and most other pollutants can’t settle out due to the speed of the flow. 

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The climate crisis is here and, among many things we need to change, we need to rapidly and dramatically decrease planet-warming emissions.

Worldwide, nature’s power to breathe, filter and store carbon dioxide can provide more than 1/3 of emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement target, according to a pioneering study by The Nature Conservancy and partners.

Trees are one of the natural solutions available.

Trees capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) through the process of photosynthesis. By conducting a series of a chemical reactions, trees convert light energy and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar, which is then used to make wood. When trees are allowed to grow for years, they build up their storage of carbon in both aboveground biomass–leaves, stems, trunks–and below ground in roots. Together, they pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store it, all for free.

Over decades and even centuries, forests can store many million tons of carbon dioxide.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, our forests are some of the best at storing carbon dioxide and they must be managed accordingly in order to maximize their ability to store carbon dioxide.

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If you’d like to learn more about how TNC researchers have been advancing the science around the impacts of climate change, we have been actively (1) researching the impacts of climate change and the potential of (2) natural climate solutions, such as forests, to capture and store carbon.

TNC is also working with partners across this region to promote and enhance the ability of forests to store more carbon and help reduce the impacts of climate change (Washington Rainforest Renewal Project).

1 Case, Michael J., Brittany G. Johnson, Kristina J. Bartowitz, and Tara W. Hudiburg. “Forests of the future: Climate change impacts and implications for carbon storage in the Pacific Northwest, USA.” Forest Ecology and Management 482 (2021): 118886.

2 Robertson, James C., Kristina V. Randrup, Emily R. Howe, Michael J. Case, and Phillip S. Levin. “Leveraging the potential of nature to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State.” PeerJ 9 (2021): e11802.

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Learn more about our science

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Fire professionals and trainees from across Washington state are planning on conducting prescribed burns in Kittitas County from Sept. 20 through October. These burns will increase the ability of fire professionals to mitigate the risk of unplanned summer fires that put nearby communities at risk of catastrophic impacts. These prescribed burns also build fire management skills for local fire practitioners.

Prescribed burns are planned in several locations in the forests surrounding the towns of Cle Elum, Roslyn and Ronald, Wash., including planned burns in the Roslyn Urban Forest, on Nature Conservancy-managed lands, and on additional private lands in parthership with local landowners.

Stay up to date with TREX information:

• Roslyn Fire Department Facebook

• Washington Prescribed Fire Council Facebook

• Subscribe to the Cascadia TREX Mailing List

• Map of TREX Burns

“This year’s cross-ownership and collaborative burns showcase what’s possible when we work together to put more good fire to use,” said Washington Prescribed Fire Council Coordinator Kara Karboski. “Fire knows no boundaries, and the solutions to our wildfire management problems will require everyone, from state agencies to private landowners, to collaborate on proven solutions like prescribed fire.”

These burns are part of a collaborative training program, the Cascadia Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX), which is designed to increase shared stewardship and learning across agencies and local landowners.

TREX offers fire practitioners an opportunity to advance their professional fire qualifications across a wide range of roles. TREX is building long-term, local prescribed fire capacity and engaging communities to build understanding of the need for increased prescribed fire to meet local objectives of reducing wildfire risk and enhancing wildlife habitat and overall to increase the resilience and health of forests.

“One of the biggest benefits of the TREX program is the various agencies and local community members building relationships for the future when wildfire does break out,” said Kittitas County Commssioner Laura Osiadacz. “It’s great to work side by side with the state Department of Natural Resources and other agencies and take our learnings back to our fire department.”

Similar TREX events take place nationwide. In Washington, they are becoming more routine as the state and its partners implement the Washington State Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan and a 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan to restore the natural wildfire resilience of our forests and reduce wildfire risk. With the passage this year of House Bill 1168, which created a first-of-its-kind $125 million Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration and Community Resilience funding account, the state is looking to scale up forest health and resilience treatments and put more prescribed fire to work.

“Prescribed fire is an important tool for not only reducing the amount of vegetation available to fuel wildfires, it also creates a healthier forest for our trees and wildlife,” said State Forester George Geissler, who oversees DNR’s wildland firefighting efforts. “The TREX program is a shining example of how DNR and our partner organizations are working together to increase the number of skilled professionals to put more prescribed fire to work creating healthier and more resilient forests in Washington.”

Forest restoration and fuel reduction work has been underway in and around the Roslyn Urban Forest (RUF) over the past few years. Since 2017, burns have been conducted nearby as part of TREX, relying heavily on support from local fire departments. To date, more than 120 fire practitioners have trained as part of Cascadia TREX.  

The 2021 Fall Cascadia TREX is hosted by the Washington Prescribed Fire Council and is funded by Bureau of Land Management, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the state Department of Natural Resources. Additional support by The Nature Conservancy, Fire Learning Network, City of Roslyn and Kittitas County Fire Departments.

Cascadia TREX is supported by an agreement between the USDA Forest Service and Washington Resource Conservation & Development Council and through the Promoting Ecosystems and Fire Adapted Communities Together (PERFACT), a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and the agencies of the Department of Interior.

Learn More About Our Work in Fire Management

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Within our cities and towns, the trees that line our streets, fill our parks and shade our streams provide people and nature with a multitude of benefits—seen and unseen.  These trees help clean the water flowing into streams, rivers and Puget Sound, help purify the air we breathe, beautify our neighborhoods—and so much more.

As the Central Puget Sound Region’s cities and towns continue to grow, identifying opportunities to invest in high-impact tree planting and preservation will be important to ensure that people continue to receive these benefits.  The Central Puget Sound Tree Canopy Assessment project is aimed at providing the data and tools for municipalities, organizations and tree advocates to be able to prioritize tree planting and preservation to support the health of humans and nature. 

Funding by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources supported The Nature Conservancy, Davey Resource Group, American Forests and City Forest Credits to collaborate in developing a suite of resources—including a high-resolution urban canopy assessment for the Central Puget Sound Region. 

Now, anyone can access and explore these resources—as well as engage with the partners behind the effort to learn more. Here is a quick look at the tools and opportunities for engagement:

iTree Landscape: iTree Landscape is host to the high-resolution urban tree canopy data within the urban growth areas of Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.  Within the tool, you can explore tree canopy, land cover and information about the ecosystem benefits provided by the tree canopy.  The tool helps you compare different areas as well as highlight specific ecosystem values to help prioritize urban tree canopy efforts. Davey Resource Group led a webinar focused on the function and uses of these data rich tool.  View the recording.

Tree Equity Score: Though trees in our cities and towns produce multiple benefits for people and nature, these benefits are not equitably distributed and accessible. The Tree Equity Score, developed by American Forests, explores the alignment between tree canopy, surface temperature, income, employment, race, age and health. The tool has incorporated the high-resolution tree canopy data produced by Davey Resource Group for the Central Puget Sound Region’s urban areas. American Forests provided an interactive demonstration of the tool for to support prioritization and planning through a social equity lens.  View the recording.  

Climate Tree Species Guide: Our region will continue to experience increased impacts from climate change, and it’s important that we are planting with these impacts in mind.  The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science developed a tree species selection guide based on anticipated climate change impacts in the Puget Sound Region. NIACS shared more about the development of this guide through a webinar (View the recording). The final guide will be available Fall 2022.

City Forest Credits: As urban areas seek to plant and preserve trees, a consistent barrier is supporting the long-term maintenance of these trees. City Forest Credits is a national non-profit that is providing new tools for private-sector dollars to support planting and protecting trees in urban areas. During the webinar, City Forest Credits explored how urban tree planting and preservation efforts can generate carbon credits. View the recording.

If you have questions or would like to more directly engage with this project, please reach out to Hannah Kett, Cities Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy: hannah.kett@tnc.org

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A myriad of issues, so many questions, and so little time for reflection and answers. And as the circus went on, my wish was for every single leader to go take a hike, quite literally—alone and then with each other. Because they were missing nature in the discussion, and we need nature now more than ever.

Climate change, reconciliation, the mental health crisis, COVID-19, and equitable access to services—key issues shaping my future, and my kids’ future—were raised. Leaders of all parties attempted rapid-fire answers, trying to showcase solutions from their platforms, shouting over each other at times.

But they forgot, systematically, to highlight how restoring and protecting Nature is a central solution to all of these challenges.

Nature conservation and protection is actually present in all the parties’ platforms–with important new commitments from some parties to reverse the crises of species loss, to invest in Indigenous-led solutions, to protect between 25-50% of our land and ocean, and support nature-based solutions to climate change. But you’d never have known it from the Leaders’ debates.

The platforms also differ of course in important ways, and none of them offer a complete package, as we have called for in our Nature Platform—but Canadians need to look through the options on offer carefully. On Election Day it will be key for voters to decide who best reflects their own values and concerns to protect the ground beneath our feet, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the wildlife we love and the green spaces that have sustained us through the pandemic. 

Who has a credible plan to take care of nature as the foundation for a healthy future for us all?

Parties need to answer this question because Canadians care about nature. 97% of Canadians have either maintained (80%) or increased (17%) their support for nature conservation since COVID-19. And, 84% of Canadians say fulfilling the commitment to protecting 30 percent of lands, rivers and lakes by 2030 is important  

And we know ensuring nature’s health and abundance is key for a prosperous economy. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 report, biodiversity loss ranks among the top 5 risks to the world economy in both likelihood and in severity of impact.  

But with unprecedented global warming and close to a million species hurtling towards extinction around the world–and over 600 wildlife species alone in Canada at risk–the leader’s debates were like arguments over carry-on luggage, seating allocations and food service as the bolts are coming off the plane in mid-air.  

As Canadians raised concerns about healing the relationship with Indigenous peoples, economic opportunity, support for mental health and the crisis of climate change, I wanted to yell “NATURE IS THE ANSWER”! 

I know yelling doesn’t help. And nature is not the only answer—we need urgent action to reduce fossil fuel emissions, build employment in sustainable energy, improve and expand key public services, and more.  But ensuring nature’s health and full recovery is an essential part of addressing most of the issues raised for debate. And nature unites us; teaching us how we are all connected both to each other and the Earth. Yet the leaders seriously missed the elephants (orcas, caribou and honey bees) in the room.

So what do we do? We need to stand up for nature.

At the end of the day, it won’t be leaders’ that chart our course to safety and security. It will be where citizens and local communities direct leaders’ attention. In the final days of this election campaign, let’s all do our part to engage with candidates, tell them our priorities for nature and beyond, assess their commitment and let this guide our critical choice on Sept 20^th.  

There are lots of tools and resources to help you do that. Read up on how parties answered questions from leading environmental groups. And don’t forget to check out Nature Canada’s nature platform, ask your candidates questions, and urge them to take the nature pledge. 

We have to stop yelling at our screens, get outside, and speak up for what matters to secure a brighter future for all of us on this tiny planet.

 Nature needs our vote.

The post Leaders forgot about nature in the Election debates—don’t let them. appeared first on Nature Canada.