Identification and Induction of Human, Social, and Cultural Capitals through an Experimental Approach to Stormwater Management

Ahjond S. Garmestani,William D. Shuster,Lee K. Rhea,Hale W. Thurston,Olivia Odom Green

doi:10.3390/su4081669

Abstract

Decentralized stormwater management is based on the dispersal of stormwater management practices (SWMP) throughout a watershed to manage stormwater runoff volume and potentially restore natural hydrologic processes. This approach to stormwater management is increasingly popular but faces constraints related to land access and citizen engagement. We tested a novel method of environmental management through citizen-based stormwater management on suburban private land. After a nominal induction of human capital through an education campaign, two successive (2007, 2008) reverse auctions engaged residents to voluntarily bid on installation of SWMPs on their property. Cumulatively, 81 rain gardens and 165 rain barrels were installed on approximately one-third of the 350 eligible residential properties in the watershed, resulting in an estimated 360 m3 increase in stormwater detention capacity. One surprising result was the abundance of zero dollar bids, indicating even a limited-effort human capital campaign was sufficient to enroll many participants. In addition, we used statistical methods to illustrate the significant role of social capital in forming clusters of adjacent properties that participated in bidding. This indicated that as participants shared their experiences, neighbors may have become more willing to trust the program and enroll. Significant agglomerations of participating properties may indicate a shift in neighborhood culture regarding stormwater management with positive implications for watershed health through the sustained induction of alternate capitals.

Highlights

IntroductionAfter running off impervious areas in the urban landscape, rainfall is either captured, conveyed, and discharged untreated into receiving water bodies through a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or, in older communities, captured, combined with sanitary sewage, conveyed to a wastewater treatment facility, treated, and discharged into receiving bodies through a combined sewer system
The Shepherd Creek project did not intend to build or utilize social capital, instead its educational efforts focused on investing in human capital
Education-only campaign revealed that a substantial volume of stormwater could be abated through an induction of human capital—196,700 L for gardens alone in a 2-year storm event—and free installation and 3-years of maintenance at a slightly higher level of cost-effectiveness than through economic incentives [36]

Summary

Introduction

After running off impervious areas in the urban landscape, rainfall is either captured, conveyed, and discharged untreated into receiving water bodies through a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or, in older communities, captured, combined with sanitary sewage, conveyed to a wastewater treatment facility, treated, and discharged into receiving bodies through a combined sewer system. The lack of infiltration opportunities can result in reduced stream baseflow, flashier pulses in urban streams, increased stream bank erosion, and loss of aquatic wildlife and benthic habitat [2,3]. Municipalities on centralized wastewater management systems are inadvertently cut off from infiltration and other ecosystem services such as removal of pathogens through filtration in soils [1,4,5]

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