09/22/2020
The nonprofit Watershed Management Group said that if higher fees or rates are approved, the money should go to a special fund supporting “green infrastructure” such as tree planting or rainwater harvesting systems that promote sustainable water use and act as buffers against climate change and the urban heat island effect. The money could be added to a just-established green infrastructure program now supported by small fees on city ratepayers, the group said.
Stormwater management projects supported by these fees could carry out environmental justice goals by helping families in lower-income areas, and they could also promote recharge of depleted aquifers, the group said.