Alternative green infrastructure supports stormwater management

Lick Run Greenway Conveyance Project

After experiencing 400 million gallons of storm overflow, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) decided to rethink their combined traditional stormwater and wastewater sewer system, to work with nature and the surrounding landscape to achieve a viable solution.

MSDGC selected our team to provide stream restoration and native landscape plantings that would control erosion on the Lick Run Greenway. This mile-long, bio-engineered waterway included multiple bio-infiltration basins and water quality pond features. Using our native plant nursery, we grew 92,000 native wetland and prairie plugs specified by the landscape architect.

The Lick Run Greenway’s combined bioswales, storm sewers, and restored stream channels help separate stormwater and wastewater, allowing water to reach the nearby treatment plant or discharge as unpolluted stormwater into Mill Creek. This improvement to water quality is also providing opportunities for revitalization in the South Fairmount neighborhood. Beyond the greater Cincinnati area, the project has served as a national model for sustainable stormwater management, neighborhood redevelopment, and historic property reuse.