Green Infrastructure Planning in Emeryville

When rain falls on urban hardscapes, it can wash contaminants in the streets directly into waterways such as the San Francisco Bay. It has been shown that stormwater in urban areas often contains mercury and PCBs, harmful chemicals that can poison waterways and wildlife, making it dangerous to swim or fish around contaminated areas.

The City of Emeryville is in the process of developing a Green Infrastructure plan in accordance with the City’s Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit to reduce the impact our stormwater has on the environment. Green Infrastructure refers to a sustainable system that slows runoff by dispersing it to vegetated areas, harvests and uses runoff, promotes infiltration and evapotranspiration, and uses bioretention and other low impact development practices to clean stormwater runoff.

The City of Emeryville has long been a leader in the Bay Area for building Green Infrastructure in both public and private developments. This plan will reaffirm the City’s commitment to responsible stormwater management and will provide the public with information about the plans for future Green Infrastructure. Please refer to this link for some more information about Green Infrastructure planning in our community. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Nancy Humphrey, Environmental Programs Supervisor.