Jason Berry
Robust participation by private property owners is an important part of addressing local stormwater problems.
Nobody likes flooding; and yet, it has proven to be a sticky problem to solve. Even though sewers, roadways and sidewalks are in the public right of way, most of the land in our cities is privately owned. Unfortunately, rain falls on public and private land alike, so any solutions to stormwater concerns like combined sewer overflows and local flooding must involve private property owners.
Nonprofit organizations, municipal public works departments, public utilities and others often create incentive programs to encourage the adoption of voluntary stormwater solutions on private properties. The goals, structures and outcomes of these programs are wide-ranging, and MPC is researching the effectiveness of these programs to make recommendations on how we can make them better.
This blog series explores these programs and collects some of the most important lessons learned from each to share with others to help improve community-wide participation in stormwater solutions.