Stormwater runoff is a leading cause of water pollution in urban environments. Traditional infrastructure, such as curbs, gutters, drains, piping, and collection systems, collects and carries stormwater away from the built environment into local bodies of water, picking up pollutants and toxins along the way.
Natural infrastructure mimics nature by capturing and absorbing rainwater where it falls and treating stormwater at its source, while providing many other benefits to communities and residents such as:
- Reducing localized flooding
- Improving community aesthetics
- Encouraging neighbourhood socialization
- Increasing property values
- Decreasing the economic and community impacts of flooding
