An ad explained changes to the funding structure of Ann Arbor’s stormwater utility in 2006. Photo: Allie Goldstein, Kirsten Howard
Climate change road trippers and recent University of Michigan grads Kirsten Howard and Allie Goldstein recently returned to Ann Arbor to learn more about the city’s stormwater utility.
The agency manages the stormwater that accumulates and picks up pollutants after heavy rainfall.
Howard and Goldstein have been traveling and blogging about how U.S. cities are adjusting to climate change. Now they’ve found successful adaptation in their own college town, where the inspiration for their trip began.
Fees charged by Ann Arbor’s utility benefit both the city and the environment — they help fund the city’s urban trees program and protect the wetland at Mary Beth Doyle Park.
The city’s stormwater utility raises about $5 million each year, according to Goldstein and Howard.
“A lot of what we’re asking cities is, could this be replicated elsewhere?” said Goldstein. “We’re finding that access to funding for climate resiliency projects is really important.
“But leadership is important too. If there is someone in the city championing the issue, that can go a long way. Ann Arbor has several of those leaders.”
Not only can a stormwater utility help pay for such projects, but effective stormwater management systems may be increasingly important to Midwestern cities when dealing with the impacts of climate change.
Goldstein and Howard cite a study by the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center, which reported dramatic increases in Ann Arbor’s annual precipitation in a 30 year time peri
Ann Arbor residents can look up the impervious pavement on their property that determines their stormwater utility rate. Rain runs off of impervious surfaces. Photo: Kirsten Howard, Allie Goldstein
od.
Since 2006, Ann Arbor’s stormwater utility has charged property owners according to how much stormwater they are actually contributing to the system, said Goldstein. The more pavement you have, the higher the fee.
“It’s calculated based on the square footage of impervious surface on their property,” Goldstein explained.
It’s also motivated city residents to make their own climate change adaptations, she said.
“The program has also inspired homeowners to make household-scale improvements, such as installing a rain garden,” Goldstein said.
So far, Howard and Goldstein have explored climate change adaptation in Island Park, N.Y.; Keene, N.H.; Berlington, Vt. and Boston and Cape Cod, Mass.
You can read more updates about their trip on their blog.