CPO’s Water Risk Team (WaRT) and NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office announced a new initiative focused on equitable and inclusive stormwater and floodplain management to improve the resilience of flood-vulnerable communities in the Great Lakes region.
Water infrastructure improvement is necessary in the coming decade to prevent flooding along the shores of and within the Great Lakes watershed. Communities that have been historically underserved due to social and economic disadvantages are especially vulnerable.
To address water resource inequities, Illinois-Indiana, Minnesota and Pennsylvania Sea Grant programs will lead a new collaborative effort, supported in partnership with CPO, to implement multi-benefit green infrastructure in marginalized neighborhoods across the Great Lakes. The project will identify vulnerable communities and their associated climate challenges in Duluth, MN; Erie, PA; and Michigan City and Hammond, IN.
Visioning exercises for implementing green infrastructure will be informed by this assessment along with listening sessions and focus groups with municipal and community leaders. Upon completion, the three Sea Grant programs will share their findings with the larger Great Lakes Sea Grant network and the communities that they serve.
Learn about other new Sea Grant initiatives focused on freshwater systems and management »