Advancing Stormwater Management at Great Lakes Marinas with Green Infrastructure: Outreach, Implementation, and Applied Research

Abstract

One-third of recreational boats in the United States are located at marinas in the Great Lakes (USACE, 2008). Though these marinas depend on a healthy coastal environment, many of them carry out boat maintenance and repair that generate oils and greases, heavy metals (particularly copper, a major component of boat paint), sediment, and nutrients that can be mobilized by stormwater and directly conveyed to nearshore waters (Jessop and Turner, 2011). Given projections of increased precipitation and runoff for the Great Lakes region (Byun et al., 2019), marinas serve as a “last chance” opportunity to reduce stormwater volumes, peak flow rates, and pollutant concentrations. Here, we discuss how improved design and retrofits to existing marinas can mitigate runoff pollution (McAllister et al., 1996).