Community Visioning Sessions for Green Storm Water Infrastructure

Huron Pines partners with communities to host visioning sessions in order to explore options for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to help capture and filter runoff in coastal communities.

Stormwater carries pollutants like road salt, bacteria, sediment and motor oils from streets and hardened surfaces. Once they enter rivers and lakes, these contaminants can result in beach closures and degraded fish and wildlife habitat, all of which impacts recreation, tourism and the environmental health of a community. Potential infrastructure would use a combination of rain gardens, bioswales, planter boxes and other features—collectively referred to as green stormwater infrastructure—to capture and filter runoff before it reaches the Thunder Bay River and Lake Huron.

The storymap below is an example of the tool Huron Pines will create to facilitate the visioning session. This specific example gives an overview of Alpena and the Thunder Bay River Watershed, offers historical context, and explores solutions to stormwater with examples of green infrastructure. At the end of the storymap is a survey where participants were encouraged to offer input on proposed designs. Input collected helped Huron Pines and the City of Alpena choose designs for future projects.