Sub-Sectors and Stakeholders The work of the green infrastructure industry can be broadly divided into three subsectors: landscaping, groundskeeping, forestry, and ecological restoration; and construction. Below we explore each sub-sector and how it relates to the Chicago region, and Table 1 maps out the stakeholders within each.
Water Management The United States Department of Agriculture defines water management as “the control and movement of water resources to minimize damage to life and property and to maximize efficient beneficial use.”9 Traditional water management systems consist largely of hard infrastructure such as storm drains and pipes, while green infrastructure for water
Stakeholder Deep Dive:
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
management encompasses a variety of practices that mimic natural hydrological processes
This special-purpose district treats wastewater and provides
to capture rain where it falls.
stormwater management for Chicago and 128 suburban
There are multiple features of
communities in Cook County. One of the region’s major employers in water management, it works to protect water resources and was responsible for the famous reversal of the Chicago River.
Chicago and its surrounding area that make its water management landscape unique. Its access to Lake Michigan provides a great resource in terms of drinking
water, which is managed by the Department of Water Management. Further, Chicago has a combined sewer system in which sanitary sewage and stormwater drain into the same pipe. As such, management for both are interrelated. The Chicago region is susceptible to flooding, making stormwater management ever more important.10
Section I: Green Infrastructure Up Close
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